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Off My Mind: Should Hero Teams Have Secrets?

If they can't trust each other, can they be successful?

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For the average superhero, the most important thing they have is their secret identity. If they have friends and family they want to protect, they can't allow their true identity to fall into the wrong hands. 
 
In 2005 we found out that Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, Namor, Dr. Strange, Professor X and Black Bolt had been secretly meeting as the Illuminati for years. Their goal was to share information from time to time to prevent major catastrophes from occurring. Knowledge is power, right? 
 
These guys took it upon themselves to try to control the fate of the Marvel Universe. They didn't tell anyone, not their fellow teammates or even loved ones. Their secret just came out. The Avengers (and Medusa, Black Bolt's wife) just found out that these guys have kept this secret organization for years. Despite them having the best of intentions, is there any way they can be trusted on their respective teams? Is it okay to keep some secrets from fellow teammates?
 == TEASER == 
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Steve Rogers' reaction in The Avengers #9 might have been a tad extreme. The creation of the Illuminati occurred years before he became in charge of the security of the free world. But he does have a point. When heroes are facing super-powered villains, they need to know they have each other's backs. 
 
Going back to the secret identity, not all members of the New Avengers know Spider-Man's secret identity (since it was erased from everyone's memory and he's only re-told a select few). Can the Avengers truly trust Spider-Man? What's to prevent someone from trying to impersonate him and infiltrate the team? I suppose they wouldn't be able to mimic his charming personality. 
 
Being on a team is like having a deep personal relationship. Members should be brothers at arms. They have to be able to trust each other. If one member is hiding something from the others, it raises the question of what else they might be hiding. During a battle when lives are at stake, you need to have trust among team members.
 
Are there some secrets that must be kept? Was the burden the Illuminati kept too much for everyone to handle? Team members might be completely loyal but we have seen heroes suddenly turn to the dark side. When is it okay to keep secrets from your teammates? 

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deactivated-5c97835f97617

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I'm confused isn't Steve keeping the Secret Avengers secret from the superhero community or do they all know

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Doctor!!!!!

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Edited By Doctor!!!!!

A good team needs healthy secrets!
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MichaelSimpson

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Edited By MichaelSimpson
@zombietag:
I meant I was talking about the new Marvel and DC Comics, I've always like old school comics whether it's from the 1980's, 1990's and early 2000's.
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Big

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Edited By Big

Secrets will be kept whether it is right or wrong. That is part of self-preservation. Team members only need to know that the intentions of their partners are to stay as a team and fight on the same side of the battle. If everyone was to tell everything about themselves and their activities, then team members would disband, relationships would be broken, and society could not continue. Sometimes, trust is believing that someone else is keeping a secret for a good reason.
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Emperormeister734

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first of all im sorry for cursing

second of all: NO DAMNIT no more secrets. Thats wat almost destroyed these superheroes in the first place every incident the superheroes HAVE WENT THROUGH NEARLY DESTROYED THEM STARK SHOULD RELATE TO THIS THE MOST, I LOVE EM AS FAVORITE BUT HE CAN'T  KEEP SECRETS ANYMORE, HE NEEDS TO TELL THE AVENGERS EVEERYTHING THAT WENT DOWN

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ShirEPanjshir

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Edited By ShirEPanjshir

Really liked the issue. Though I sometimes do wonder if Bendis hates Tony so bad. They really should stop pinning everything on him. I'm guessing that Bendis meant for Tony to look bad, again, in this issue. But really for me it is Steve that's acting like an ass right now.
 
First of all: he's keeping secrets himself right about now, as I'm quite sure that he never told the Avengers or New Avengers during their formation that he'd be creating his own Spec. Ops team the Secret Avengers. So blaming Tony for having a secret as well .. 
Secondly, he's putting all of the blame on Tony, and only on Tony. I mean, the Illuminati didn't consist out of Tony solely, there were other members involved as well. Yet Steve feels called upon to shove all of this on Tony alone.
 
Anyway, I really hope that in the story to come, that Tony will be able to 'redeem' himself towards Steve ( and others ), even though I feel that the man has been through enough pain already for things he may have caused, but without ill intentions. The guy did still erase his entire mind, making himself brain-dead to safeguard all of the secret identities. After which he was able to regain his memories, etc. but missing out of several years. After wards being blamed with a lot of things, which he doesn't even remember doing, or why he felt that those things had to be done at the time being.

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