My response was two-fold. First, the elapsed time was not the same for the characters as for the readers, so there was no "by now" involved.

Second, in context, unlike Superman, or Spider-Man, or most other superheroes, really, the X-Men did not have a large supporting cast with whom they hung around in both identities.

BrianHague wrote: Jabari, your discussion with your friends is a common one in fandom, and I hope you don't mind my pointing out that it lacks an element of perspective.

Oh no, believe me, I’m not that type of fan. These discussions are just, y’know, fun.I totally get the concept Willing Suspension of Disbelief, and Conceits Of The Genre, and generally agree with the notion of when you find yourself seriously arguing that, for example, Batman should kill The Joker once and for all because The Joker just keeps coming back to kill more people, then that’s probably a sign to move on from the hobby. Or at least from that particular type of comic. So when I address various “unrealistic” things about comics, I’m usually doing it in the classic Marvel “No Prize” way, in which I try to make it work in my head, not to mock what doesn’t work.

Now I knew about the “Man of The Hour” tag, as I saw that in an arc of the old Sandman Mystery Theater series when Hourman appeared. Didn’t know about the meaning behind “Green Lantern.” Nevertheless, the point remains, as applies to the modern era. Most people won’t know what a “Green Lantern” stands for. So your average DCU citizens would likely think that’s a weird name,unless he’s publicly revealed that he uses a green lantern-shaped device to charge his ring. And I think with the modern Hourman they’ve now given him some kind of time-manipulation powers, so that name would fit him better.  

I never read it, so I don’t how she did it, but I recall an old interview with Gail Simone when she was about to revamp Jim Lee’s GEN 13 series, and she said she would address in the book why a teenager in the 2000’s would call himself “Grunge.” A name that made sense in the mid-90’s, but less so 10 years later.