It was at that moment John realized he was actually speaking to Lex Luthor, spoofing Superman's number...

To be fair, he also changes his posture, tone, and even dominant hand.

Supes: “If it wasn’t you, then tell me how Luthor found out?” John: “Did you say Luthor? As in Lex Luthor? …seeeeee, he bought out Acme last month, Y’know being a trillionaire and all, and being CEO gives him access to all our records, sooooo _technically_ that still qualifies him as finding out on his own.” Supes: “What about the rest of the League? Have their identities been compromised too?” John: “Now don’t worry; Luthor had to partner up with Bruce Wayne to buy us out, so Batman had us put the rest of the League’s files under lockdown.” Supes: “Wait, why didn’t he have mine protected to?” John: “Well, you see…after that little dust up the two of you had a few years back you had us put a block on Batman’s access to your account; you had him removed from your friends and family plan remember? Well that meant he wasn’t authorised to order changes to your file, even if he is our new co-boss.” Supes: “…” John: “Oh and if you were thinking about flying off and doing your spin the Earth backwards to turn back time trick to undo that, keep in mind Acme has the best in Temporal Shields, so it won’t work. We called in a favour from the Master to have them installed, so Time Lord engineering means it’s got to be good…even if the outside of our offices are stuck looking like a Dalek travel pod…call me paranoid, but I suspect he might be trying to trick the Doctor into blowing us up as a means of wiping out the debit on his account.”

Random Criminal: Guys Guys I just learned Superman's secret identity. Other Criminal: Yeah it's Clark Kent. RC: You knew? OC: Yeah, for ages now. RC: why don't we go do something!? OC: Like what? He's not less bulletproof just because he's on the clock or watching TV. RC: So does, like, everyone know? OC: Pretty much, except "the man with the 12 level intellect," and his "why won't she be my" girlfriend. RC: so why don't we tell everyone about this? OC: cause his "secret identity," is the only thing giving us an opportunity to get any work done.

“ITS A SIDE PART & GLASSES, CLARK!” damn John, throwing shade

People have proven that that kind of disguise can actually work if done right, completely changing the way you present yourself. The Actor who played Superman Vs Batman's Superman has stood on a street corner and people didn't realise it was him. It's called "hiding in plain sight"...

There's a line in Invincible where Atom Eve says something like: if you're not looking for a superhero, you won't find one ... or something like that. Inattention blindness is a real thing.

Honestly people are extraordinary in their ability to miss shit. When I go to work I'm usually wearing black slacks, a loose button up shirt, and glasses with my hair pulled back in a ponytail. The one day got called in to cover a shift I showed up wearing contacts, dressed in a kilt, with a vest over a long sleeve compression shirt and my hair braided because I had been planning to go to an event with a friend. My boss who sits 4ft from me for about half my shift every day didn't recognize me till I pulled on my ID badge and started working and I had a dozen co workers ask if I was new. A change in style really can make you unrecognizable to most people.

It really does rely on people not knowing both identities. Clark is a fairly obscure fellow; to most, he's little more than a name printed at the start of a news article. Thus, he realistically only needs to fool a small number of people. "Wait, you think I look like Superman? Lemme see a picture... Huh... I guess there is some resemblance. I never noticed that. You've got a good eye."

My head canon is that most if not all of superman villains know is secret identity but the info is useless cause they all know if they were to attack lois or whoever, then he wouldn't restrain as much. Or, for the bigger villains like Brainiac, they just don't care.

Side part, Glasses, and CHRISTOPHER REEVE LEVEL ACTING! Lex once got a computer that figured it out... And threw out the results.

Honestly I thought for a second that was gonna be Injustice Superman on the line "Hi, yeah sooooo I shoved my arm through the Joker's chest, issued a worldwide ultimatum, revealed Batman's identity to the world, killed the Guardians for their hypocrisy and beached Atlantis in the middle of the Sahara to send a message. . . I know that I must have overlooked something but for the life of me I can't see it, so I got your number from Sinestro"

He started out so supportive and understanding... Then he need a drill something in his head

Should have mentioned no villain smart enough would mess with his secret identity anyway. Those that know just ignore it because it dosnt change he is super man

For a second I thought it was Superman after a certain Joker event. Looking for retribution. Who would they call for help 😂

In all honesty, my mind immediately went to Injustice Superman.

Existential Threats: Tell him he needs to brush up on his Telepathy. He hasn't been practicing like his supposed. And why is he bothering you? Good grief. I'll go have a chat with Martha again. At least, I'll get one of her cookies.

Careful John, im not sure nappa can handle superman

John, how are you not affected by Superman's telepathic disguise power as indicated in early comic books?

I thought this was going to be Injustice Superman, and he was calling to ask about what the Joker did.

Actually, Clark's disguise is great his glass is meant to kinda hypnotize you a bit he makes himself look punier physically and shorter by arching the back also the best hiding place is in plain sight

That's one thing that always bugged me about Smallville. Lois saw Clark without the glasses, on a routine basis. So why wouldn't she recognize Supes later on? It wasn't that many years later.

What's villain supports relationship with Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory? Does Dexter buy from them or maybe they buy from him? Or maybe they're rivals, constantly trying underhanded tactics to steal customers from each other?

I love how fucking chill he is about it. Like they have nothing to fear even from sups.

I love how one animated series or movie had Batman study Supermans Flight and realized a lot of Super Sonic Flights were starting and ending at the Daily Planet and Clark's Apartment.

Look tony hawk doesn't even change his looks and he never gets recognized. I believe superman's disguise could work

My high ass thought Injustice Superman was calling to open an account

Do injustice!

For a moment... I thought you were bringing up the injustice universe

...imagine if this leads into the Injustice storyline. I mean, all that Supes went through BUT ALSO being warned how his secret identity might not be that secret...

Well... He is Superman... With just a tie and glasses, he thinks that he can outsmart anyone??? Where is his superbrain??? Wait a minute... Lex don't know Clark is Super... No one can see that in Metropolis??? Dang... BatMan is way smarter then ALOT of ppl... Even Hulk would find out who's Super... 🤣🤣🤣

"You sound pissed." (That means I'm doing my job right and on track for my quarterly bonus.)

Fun fact, before a continuity reboot, the Glasses (Made out of Kyrptonian crystal) actually enhanced a low level hypnosis ability so anyone who saw him when wearing the glasses would literally be unable to see his normal physique. There was a comic where he had to hypnotize people into being immune to hypnotism, which resulted in them being able to see through the disguise.

I remember there being a thing in at least one version of Superman where it's also a weird energy frequency hypnosis thing that blocks people from recognizing the similarities.

It's psychology you would never expect the slouching, nerdy in looks and attitude, glasses-wearing clumsy dork. To be the powerful, dexterous, confident, and charming Man of Steel Superman.

I've been reading comics over 60 years, I never noticed the "side part."

Funny thing is he adds more to it via posture and how he acts in the cartoon movies.

Literally also crushes his spine

Finally someone told him. At least batmsn has a mask... and doesn't tan.

My personal head cannon (I don’t read comics so this could be real idk) is that most, if not all of his villains know that Superman is Clark Kent but they don’t reveal it because they know that once they did, he can quit his day job and be Superman 24/7.

"No we didn't tell anyone, we don't need to. All your villains already know who you are they just also realize you don't get less invulnerable just cause you're wearing glasses."

For a moment I thought it was Injustice Superman calling.

I really expected to hear "Whats that gurgling sound? YOU DID WHAT TO THE JOKER?

I love the fact that John's immediate reaction to Superman calling him is just "hey, did you call the wrong number, bro?" No one can hate Superman. :)

Fun fact: once Henry Cavil stood in Time Square in front of a Man of Steel billboard and nobody recognized him.

Okay, now I want to see a video with him talking to a red kryptonite infected Superman.

Well i mean at one point Lex never would have thought Clark was superman cause of their personalities

Not only is it part of the contract, but it would also ruin our business model. We would lose a bunch of our customers if we gave away secret identities.

Clark puts a lot more effort into his disguise than that dude, come on.

he should do a skit where superman calls him pissed and says " wtf dude, why did you told preditor to try to attack Lois?"

At least he didn't take that identity hiding 101 class from Stark Enterprises

Why do I have the feeling this was the call before Injustice

pple too busy looking at his stretch-undies to realize he looks like the journalist from that one paper

I never understood this until my current job. I teach swim lessons, so I am bare faced, hair pulled back and wet with random flyaways sticking to my face and out at odd angles, and no glasses. Not to mention, my uniform is my least favorite color, orange. Out of the water, my hair is a purple cloud of curls, bold winged liner and mascara with a dark lip sometimes, earrings, glasses, and almost always wearing black. Plus, kids don't know how tall I am since I crouch in the water since its only 4 feet deep. I have babies and kids who love me in class and talk about me a home, who will not engage with me and sometimes actively hide from me when seeing me out of water. I had a set of twins who loved me in class, but when mom went to take a picture of us together on Halloween (Red wig, no mask, general beauty makeup. I was dressed as Bombshells Hawkgirl) one of them started crying. It wasn't until I started talking that she recognized me, as I have a unique voice due to vocal polyps and just a general deeper, huskier voice. She stopped crying and gave me the best WTF look when she figured out who was holding her. They now will come to me out of work as well, but many of my kids don't know me out of uniform.

This is a common misconception. Glasses, especially thick ones, can absolutely change the shape of your face. I've sometimes failed to recognize coworkers because they weren't in uniform, and my mom has failed to recognize longtime associates (like doctors) because they weren't in their usual context (she ran into a doctor I'd been seeing for ten or fifteen years in the store, didn't recognize him until he said something, and couldn't place him during the conversation). Lots of people don't realize Gandalf and Magneto are played by the same actor, or compare Natalie Portman's Padme to her Evey to her Jane Foster, James McAvoy as Professor X versus The Beast (Split, not X-Men). Actors do this all the time. Another thing is that Superman and Clark have been seen together. Sometimes it was Batman in disguise, a Superman robot, clever use of super speed, a shape shifter like Martian Manhunter… the list goes on. There's real life examples, for example Henry Cavill (no glasses) stood next to a Superman poster in a Superman shirt for four hours in Times Square without being recognized. Hugh Jackman went to a comic convention dressed as Wolverine, and one person told him he was too tall, while another said he looked "okay." Charlie Chaplin once took third place in a Charlie Chaplin look alike contest. Another thing: he doesn't just change his look, he also changes the way he carries himself, the way he talks, the pitch and cadence of his voice. Modern versions tend to emphasize their physique as Superman, and downplay it/cover it up as Clark. Finally, most people don't realize Superman has a secret identity. He doesn't wear a mask, doesn't need a job, has a home (the Fortress), family (Supergirl, Superboy, Power Girl, etc.), friends (Jimmy, Lois, the Justice League, etc.), a name (Kal-El), and a history (came to Earth as a child, adopted and raised in US, became a hero as an adult). Note that most modern versions of Clark are presumed to be the Kent's biological child, often with an actual birth certificate.

Superman disguise is actually genius. When he's Clark Superman slouches over acts clumsy and uses glasses not the typical appearance that people would associate with superman

To be fair: considering how powerful Superman is, it would be like saying "Hey, I think the head cook at McDonald's is a demigod

I fully expected superman to call about starting the unjustice universe

My favorite thing about this is the thought of the villains finding out and one of them is like, “So? You think he’s less bulletproof in his pjs?”

He's gonna be like "Dude, every time Superman's photo lands on Facebook, Clark Kent gets automatically tagged"

Different Supes than I thought it would be.

Those glasses are hypnotic, there's no joke here, they induce short term memory loss on anyone who looks straight at him. Also, you say that, but if celebrities known for playing Superman can dress up as Clark Kent and return to a place they entered not an hour ago dressed as Superman and not be noticed, WHICH HAS HAPPENED OUTRIGHT, then no, it's not obvious, as people 100% fall for it in real life.

Superman's disguise has actually been proven to be effective. Changing your posture to drop a few inches, adding glasses and shifting the way you present yourself, and suddenly you go from Superman to a guy who vaguely looks like Superman.

You are so good at this 😂

Everyone says that supermans disquise isnt that good, yet the actor for one of the more recent superman movies stood in front of the superman poster with a superman tshirt and nobody noticed him.

Note, for several months of filming the original Superman film, most of the film crew did not realize Christopher Reeves played both Superman and Clark Kent because of that "simple" disguise. They literally thought it was two different actors for months.

This is explained in Superman returns. It's mind-bendingly implausible that the personification of beige styrofoam could secretly be a badass

Actually, lots of guys have proved that superman's disguise makes perfect sense.

The funny thing is that it actually does work. Henry Cavill went around times square with glasses on for a few hours, through areas with Superman posters everywhere and his face on them, and nobody knew who he was. He had the glasses on change the way he walked and that's about it. But when yhe took the glasses off and walked with a little more confidence people within minutes started noticing end running up to him to either get autographs or say hello. It's not just about the glasses and the hairstyle, the fact that people don't expect to see Superman just walking around on the sidewalk, combined with the fact that his body language in demeanor is nothing like Superman's when he's wearing the Clark Kent disguise it's easy to see why people don't notice him

No it's an entire demeanor he slumps his shoulders stutters and speaks with no confidence as Clark while around everyone with the exception of his parents, uses his non dominant hand and doesn't make himself known most of the time falling into to the background

Superman should call from the injustice world

It's also an attitude shift and baggy clothes. The only person you would expect to figure it out is Lois, and she does, a lot.

Apart of the identity is, canonically, no one would believe mild matter Clark is Superman. Superman already knows his secret identity is crap.

Oh shit this is injustice superman isn’t it

He also slouches

Fun fact, on opening weekend of his first superman movie, Henry cavil stood in a busy shopping area across from a billboard for the movie, with a Superman T-shirt on. And no one recognized that he was the actor on the billboard. So Clark could easily have hidden from people using a different hair style, glasses, and walking with a slight stoop to his back.

Interesting thing about the side part and glasses thing, it actually does work 😂😂 its been tested

In an age with facial recognition tech, even the psychology of change-blindness won't protect Clark forever.

Speaking as someone who has worn glasses my whole life, glasses are a perfectly valid disguise. They can change a person's look significantly. Plus people see what they expect to see. Henry Cavill posted a video to his Instagram a few years ago. He was standing in Times Square, wearing a Superman shirt, standing beneath a giant billboard of him as Superman, and no one noticed him. And he wasn't even wearing glasses. It's called selective awareness. The brain is great at filtering out what it doesn't need. Often it's too good.

Apparently the glasses are magic and make so nobody can sew the similarities between them

Just call in Nappa he'll straighten him out

I always thought it was the awkwardness he added to Clark that made it. Sure he looks like superman with glasses. But look alikes happen. Especially in a comic book world it would be far fetched or hard to believe. The awkwardness and clumsiness was so far away from the perfect superman it was easy to not see superman in him. That being said. This was funny. One because he has the balls to say that to superman. 2 because it's still 100% the truth regardless

Apparently there was a study done back in the 60's about this and simple stuff like that works pretty well.

Okay now I have a grudge the Superman desguise is actully good probabbly one of the best

Both Charlie Chaplin and Dolly Parton lost look-alike competitions. Of themselves.

all fun and games till it turns out this is the Injustice Superman

Finally, somebody speaks the fucking truth

It happens all the time to famous people in our world. One of the best examples is Tony Hawk.

Got to be careful on them phone lines. You never know who's listening and any single person listening to that crap could just blather it to anyone.

He also hunches. He was very insistent on that being the key as I recall

To be fair . . . in some universe's Supes is in fact a villian so he's probably not calling the wrong number

For a second I thought he was taking to the evil superman you know the one that killed The Joker, killed Jokers followers and killed many more heros for the sake of peace

If superman has glasses i whould not know who he is beacuse of prosopagnosia

The glasses are canonically magic

I can remember where but there was somewhere where a bunch of villains actually did not know who superman was and just chose to leave him alone. It's not like he's less bulletproof because he puts the glasses on. Him spending time as Clark means there's less time for him to be beating the fuck out of them.

I kind of like the funny fan theory that a lot of villains actually know Superman's secret identity but they don't say anything about it because it's superman.

Physic glasses tho

wasnt there a thing that the glasses has some kind of kryptonite lenses that made it impossible to identify him as supes somehow?

This is why he went evil in injustice

Oh this makes me want to see Superman from injustice call. Villian support? No this isn't hero support. They must have transferred you because of the last incident in your file.