I look at this question as a fan of Clark Kent Superman.
I lose interest if there's no K becasue it's the K that makes him physically vulnerable. Also, K gives the badguys a fighting chance.
Otherwise, CKS is boring, no matter how emotionally vulnerable or deeply chocolate his eyes are - so he's the stongest man on earth, yada yada (sorry for the retro phrase) Also, it's his physical vulnerablity that makes the great love story with Lois Lane believeable - when you couple that with his emotional vulnerablity (plus hers!) then, it's magic.
But, that doesn't mean K needs ot be mentioned - we know it's part of what CKS is. A given.
Now that said, as a consumer of fanfic, movies, TV I think K is way overused as a plot devise. It's presence on earth is very limited, given how it arrived. Too often it's used as a substitute for solid plotting.
If it shows up, the rationale has to be crefted inot the story in a loogical way. (I know everyone's a critic
)
random thoughts as always
c.
