Masks and costumes are a recurring visual symbol for identity, raising the question of who a hero is when they put on a mask. Starlin and Amparo play around with the visual depictions of the characters by featuring them in various states of dress. From the very start of the storyline, the fact that Jason’s Robin costume directly replicates the Robin costume of Dick Grayson emphasizes Jason as a stand-in for Dick, which causes Bruce to unwittingly reduce his autonomy and disregard his emotional needs. Later in Chapter 1, as Bruce and Alfred are discussing Jason’s emotional issues, Bruce is wearing all the parts of his costume but his cowl and cape, suggesting that he is trying to understand Jason as both a mentor and father figure. When he puts Jason off duty as Robin at the end of this scene, Bruce’s partial state of dress makes Jason feel as though both Bruce and Batman are rejecting him, exacerbating his emotional distress.

The Joker also uses makeup to hide his identity. However, the physical distortion that elongates his smile almost always gives him away, making the disguise irrelevant. In this way, Starlin suggests that the Joker’s treachery is so prominent that no makeup or disguise can fully conceal it.

Starlin and Amparo also deploy a symbolic use of Robin’s mask in Chapter 3 to emphasize the tension inherent in a superhero’s dual identity. As Robin is deciding whether to help Batman or Lady Shiva, the panels gradually zoom in on his face, eventually closing in over a panel that features his mask over his eyes. Starlin pairs the image with a direct statement of Robin’s dilemma: “Bruce, the man who took me off the streets and gave me a home? Or Shiva, the woman who might be my mother?” (69). The image of the mask over Robin’s eyes functions as a visual representation of this dilemma, forcing him to choose whether he is defined by his mask or by the person underneath it.