I think that there should be an option of uploading a photo, not unlike an avatar, to superimpose over the generic pilot's face in the game.
The photo can be one of your face, somebody else's face, or any image at all--including an animated gif like the kind of some you use in your avatars.
The image should be evident to all players, and should be a great source of comraderie and/or hatred, judging by which country you are from.
If wounded, the face should also show signs of fatigue or injury. If struck directly by fragments or whole shells, the face should be partially or entirely obliterated.