I like Aaron's answer.  For a full-time student and part-time crimefighter with a part-time job that overlapped occassionally with his crimefighting job (he still had to put in time out of costume at the Bugle to haggle with JJJ and get paid for the pictures he took while in costume), how much research and development time could he reasonably devote to pet projects?  Necessity being the mother of invention would put his resourcefulness at the mercy of his crimefighting career.  Plus, he was a kid working out of his bedroom, not a scientist working out of a lab.

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One of the long-standing conventions of superhero comics is that masked characters do things which, logically, should tip off anyone who was paying attention as to who is behind the mask. They operate in the same cities, hang out with the same people, sometimes even date (or try to date) the same women.

One of the most often recurring arguments I had with Chris during our time on UNCANNY X-MEN was over his constant assertion that "everybody should have figured out who the X-Men are by now". Maybe -- but in comics, "everybody" doesn't. It's just that simple.

Jesus: A shame you quote me in your response without actually reading what I wrote. As you say, ludicrous.

Well, a shame you make the mistaken assumption that I didn't read what you wrote. I did. Now if I'm missing your point or misunderstanding what you are trying to say, that's one thing. But frankly, I don't see anything you wrote there that affects the quote I used nor the response I gave. Care to elaborate?

One of the long-standing conventions of superhero comics is that masked characters do things which, logically, should tip off anyone who was paying attention as to who is behind the mask. They operate in the same cities, hang out with the same people, sometimes even date (or try to date) the same women.

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While I have no problem with this convention per se, it has bothered me ever since I was a kid in two particular cases:

* It's fine and dandy that Parker manages to get photos of Spider-Man that no one else can, but I find it annoying when stories emphasize some sort of secretive, personal connection between the two, i.e., "Parker is the only one who can contact Spider-Man!", or "Parker and Spider-Man are in cahoots!".

* Ditto with Clark Kent/Superman. Why would Kent be so foolish as to act in a way that would make people think that he's a personal friend of Superman's, or that he's somehow the only one who knows where to find Superman?

That said, the flipside is just as dangerous. Too many times I have heard writers and editors "justify" preposterous ideas with "It's only comics!" (Once I had to listen to a writer justify a the torture and essentially crucifixion of a character we happened to share!)