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[Piecake]

Another unavoidable fact is that these movies will feature actors who undertook rigorous diet and exercise regimens in preparation for their spandex suits. The ritual of actors bulking up or shedding fat for their superhuman roles may feel inevitable now, but the current standard for impossibly brawny comic-book heroes is something of a new development. Over the past few decades, there’s been a substantial amount of fluctuation when it comes to portraying the “perfect” male body. As an infographic published by The Economist reveals, Adam West’s Bruce Wayne, weighing in around 200 lbs, might surprise viewers familiar with Michael Keaton’s Caped Crusader (158 lbs), while both heroes would be dwarfed by Ben Affleck’s Batman (216 lbs and 6’ 4”).

In fact, the changing bodies of Superman, Batman, and other superheroes of the DC and Marvel universes illuminate the ways the ideal male physique has evolved in American pop culture over the decades.

In the ’50s and ’60s, the film and television industries began their love affair with men in capes. Though these heroes stopped locomotives, jumped over buildings, and retreated to secret lairs, they didn’t have quite the same look (massive shoulders, V-shaped torsos, and rippling abs) as today’s superheroes. Kirk Alyn, the first actor to play Superman in 1948, looked more like a college athlete than an alien Adonis. Later the role was taken over by George Reeves, the quintessential ’50s Man of Steel. Reeves was a broad, barrel-chested hero with a square torso, long limbs, and barely a muscle in sight. But he had a John Wayne-esque brand of masculinity—solid, stable, and strong-jawed—that made him compatible with the times.

In 1966, Adam West took on the role of Batman in the eponymous TV series. West’s runner’s build was sturdy, and out of costume, his Bruce Wayne looked more like James Bond than Charles Atlas. (Incidentally, West was tapped for the role after he played a Bond-inspired spy in a Nestle Quik commercial.) Unlike later Batmans, West didn’t physically transform when he donned his batsuit, morphing from Bruce Wayne to the otherworldly Batman. His simple gray and black outfit only heightened how ordinary his physique was for a man regularly tasked with saving an entire city. West later joked about his appearance on the show when he made a cameo appearance on The Simpsons, saying, “Back in my day, we didn’t need molded bodysuits, [it was just] pure West.

The same seems to have held true for Batman v Superman and the upcoming Captain America: Civil War, X-Men Apocalypse, Wolverine, and Guardians of the Galaxy’s sequel. These superheroes are approaching a point of such rigid physical perfection that Hollywood is hovering dangerously close to the uncanny valley, a place of eerie, manufactured humanity. As this ideal becomes duplicated ad nauseam, it might end up disconnecting with viewers—because this echo chamber of muscle men neglects what’s actually compelling about superheroes: the place where “super” and “human” intersect.

Of course moviegoers still expect their superheroes will be better, stronger, and closer to god-like than the average man. But the superheroes of the previous decades could convey superiority along with a dose of humanity. After all, there’s no true heroism without a degree of vulnerability. Even the early radio programs of Superman understood this—that’s why they invented Kryptonite.

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertai...he-evolution-of-the-perfect-male-body/475998/

 

[Dennis]

These superheroes are approaching a point of such rigid physical perfection that Hollywood is hovering dangerously close to the uncanny valley, a place of eerie, manufactured humanity.

Thank God for PEDs, eh Hollywood?

 

[Slayven]

A thunder god and the peak of humanity are unrealistic........

 

[echoshifting]

Man, Marvel characters would have looked so goofy in the '70s

 

[Discotheque]

Arnold and Sly started it

 

[entremet]

Thanks PEDs.

 

[Dali]

Arnold and Sly started it

Ya seriously. Arnie carrying the tree at the beginning of Commando puts all these dudes to shame.

 

[Kelsdesu]

Arnold and Sly started it

Keaton ended it.

 

[xaosslug]

when Superman was walking tnto the senate hearing... shit was pretty ridiculous. LOL

 

[Branduil]

I think these movies about literally super-human god-men might have unrealistic bodies.

 

[Manmademan]

Man, Marvel characters would have looked so goofy in the '70s

 

[broncobuster]

Having the actors bulk up and adding a muscle suit on top of it leads to bulky bodies. You can get a sense of it by looking at the muscles for BvS Batman,

 

[Kelsdesu]

In Iron Man 2 I swore that was the Cap shield they were referencing.

Im right.

 

[Baron von Loathsome]

60s Captain America puts him to shame.

 

[Alienous]

Having the actors bulk up and adding a muscle suit on top of it leads to bulky bodies. You can get a sense of it by looking at the muscles for BvS Batman,

Liefeld would be proud.

 

[Slayven]

Man, Marvel characters would have looked so goofy in the '70s

To be fair some of that is 80s jank

 

[echoshifting]

Hang on I didn't say awesome. Or bangin

LMAO at Dr. Strange, wow.

 

[MMarston]

Aka Vince Mcmahon's wet dream

 

[Manmademan]

To be fair some of that is 80s jank

Only Thor really. The lou ferrigno hulk was pretty much the same from the time the show started in 1978 until the UTTERLY FUCKING TERRIBLE "Death of the Incredible Hulk" movie in 1990.

 

[Slayven]

60s Captain America puts him to shame.

That is not 60s cap, this is 60s cap

 

[Kelsdesu]

How yall not going to post this gem?

Yoooo!

 

[Manmademan]

How yall not going to post this gem?

I was gonna, but thought that daredevil might be pushing it. that DD and Thor are both from the 89 Hulk movie.

 

[Bit-Bit]

Great article, but I can't really agree with the ending point.

People go into these movies knowing that these are comic book characters drawn with super human muscles. The audience of today just respects the length that filmmakers go to realizing that aesthetics.

 

[PreFire]

Keaton, At 5'10", 158lbs is incredibly low for a person to have Batman's proportions.

Never noticed him looking skinny though, you sure it wasn't 185lbs? 185 would make more sense.

Tom Hardy was ridiculously jacked when he played Bane. Lou Ferrigno looked like the real hulk. Stallone looked ridiculous in his Rambo comeback. Either these guys know a secret to packing on massive amounts of muscle in short periods of time naturally, or they're getting a little boost from something.

Havill looks enhanced with the suit, but even without it he's huge.

Isn't the rigorous and daily workout to maintain the on screen body of the super strength character they are acting as the reason Hugh Jackman doesn't want to continue being wolverine?

 

[Manmademan]

Keaton, At 5'10", 158lbs is incredibly low for a person to have Batman's proportions.

Never noticed him looking skinny though, you sure it wasn't 185lbs? 185 would make more sense.

Tom Hardy was ridiculously jacked when he played Bane. Lou Ferrigno looked like the real hulk. Stallone looked ridiculous in his Rambo comeback. Either these guys know a secret to packing on massive amounts of muscle in short periods of time naturally, or they're getting a little boost from something.

Havill looks enhanced with the suit, but even without it he's huge.

Isn't the rigorous and daily workout to maintain the on screen body of the super strength character they are acting as the reason Hugh Jackman doesn't want to continue being wolverine?

yep

 

[DiscoJer]

Reb Brown as Captain America was pretty well built. There was a running joke about his physique in the MST3K version of Space Mutiny (which he stared in).

 

[iamblades]

Did that article seriously just argue that Tony Stark is a 'cookie-cutter muscleman'?

Hell, Only Captain America and Thor are even big guys in the Avengers. Hawkeye and Falcon and Iron Man and War Machine are just regular ass dudes, Spidey is a teenage boy, Vision is slim and athletic but not musclebound(also not human, so whatever). Banner also isn't really jacked at all, but that's kinda cheating I guess, cause the green guy is.

 

[Kinyou]

Did that article seriously just argue that Tony Stark is a 'cookie-cutter muscleman'?

Hell, Only Captain America and Thor are even big guys in the Avengers. Hawkeye and Falcon and Iron Man and War Machine are just regular ass dudes, Spidey is a teenage boy, Vision is slim and athletic but not musclebound(also not human, so whatever). Banner also isn't really jacked at all, but that's kinda cheating I guess, cause the green guy is.

Antman is rather jacked, no?

 

[lamaroo]

Did that article seriously just argue that Tony Stark is a 'cookie-cutter muscleman'?

Hell, Only Captain America and Thor are even big guys in the Avengers. Hawkeye and Falcon and Iron Man and War Machine are just regular ass dudes, Spidey is a teenage boy, Vision is slim and athletic but not musclebound(also not human, so whatever). Banner also isn't really jacked at all, but that's kinda cheating I guess, cause the green guy is.

Falcon's got more muscle than Hawkeye, Iron Man, and War Machine, but he looks tiny next to Evans.

 

[iamblades]

Antman is rather jacked, no?

Just looks like a regular ass dude in a suit to me. Not fat or out of shape or anything, but he doesn't look like a superhuman beast like Captain America and Thor do(and are supposed to).

 

[Bit-Bit]

Keaton, At 5'10", 158lbs is incredibly low for a person to have Batman's proportions.

Never noticed him looking skinny though, you sure it wasn't 185lbs? 185 would make more sense.

Tom Hardy was ridiculously jacked when he played Bane. Lou Ferrigno looked like the real hulk. Stallone looked ridiculous in his Rambo comeback. Either these guys know a secret to packing on massive amounts of muscle in short periods of time naturally, or they're getting a little boost from something.

Havill looks enhanced with the suit, but even without it he's huge.

Isn't the rigorous and daily workout to maintain the on screen body of the super strength character they are acting as the reason Hugh Jackman doesn't want to continue being wolverine?

The trainer for Cavill said that there was no way they could give him any steroids cause they didn't want it to come out that Superman uses drugs or whatever.

 

[- J - D -]

Did that article seriously just argue that Tony Stark is a 'cookie-cutter muscleman'?

Hell, Only Captain America and Thor are even big guys in the Avengers. Hawkeye and Falcon and Iron Man and War Machine are just regular ass dudes, Spidey is a teenage boy, Vision is slim and athletic but not musclebound(also not human, so whatever). Banner also isn't really jacked at all, but that's kinda cheating I guess, cause the green guy is.

The point the article makes is what continues to be required of an actor to play a male superhero. Robert Downey Jr. gained significant muscle mass for Iron Man, even if it wasn't on the level of what was required of Chris Evans or Chris Hemsworth.

Similarly, Anthony Mackie and Jeremy Renner definitely bulked up for their respective roles.

 

[Purple Cheeto]

Keaton, At 5'10", 158lbs is incredibly low for a person to have Batman's proportions.

Never noticed him looking skinny though, you sure it wasn't 185lbs? 185 would make more sense.

Tom Hardy was ridiculously jacked when he played Bane. Lou Ferrigno looked like the real hulk. Stallone looked ridiculous in his Rambo comeback. Either these guys know a secret to packing on massive amounts of muscle in short periods of time naturally, or they're getting a little boost from something.

Havill looks enhanced with the suit, but even without it he's huge.

Isn't the rigorous and daily workout to maintain the on screen body of the super strength character they are acting as the reason Hugh Jackman doesn't want to continue being wolverine?

PED use is pretty common among male actors.

 

[iamblades]

The point the article makes is what continues to be required of an actor to play a male superhero. Robert Downey Jr. gained significant muscle mass for Iron Man, even if it wasn't on the level of what was required of Chris Evans or Chris Hemsworth.

Similarly, Anthony Mackie and Jeremy Renner definitely bulked up for their respective roles.

RDJ did get in shape for Iron Man 2, but i would not say he put on 'significant' muscle mass, and he didn't look anywhere close to that in the first one(nor, as far as I can tell, the later ones).

Mackie slimmed down from the muscle he put on for Pain and Gain, if anything, and Renner looks like a regular guy, regardless of whether he put on muscle for the role or not.

Point stands that none of the MCU characters look superhuman aside from the ones who literally are superhuman, Cap and Thor.

 

[Replicant]

when Superman was walking tnto the senate hearing... shit was pretty ridiculous. LOL

I thought I was the only one who think like this. I thought "That is ugly. Either the costume is shit or Henry has gone too far and he now looks like giant blobs in ugly blue costume".

 

[Cameron122]

If you're gonna go around and fight crime with your fists, you're gonna be in shape after awhile.

 

[Bleepey]

If you're male and playing a superhero you better hit the gym. I can't think of any actors playing physical roles where they didn't hit the gym.