Superman Through the Ages! Forum

No one I've ever seen really fits the look of Superman.  In most of the movies and TV shows the guy tends to be in, at best, moderate shape.  They've all got pretty small arms, maybe broad shoulders, but no real depth like Superman consistently has in all his comics and cartoons.  Superman is built like a body builder, and frankly, he invented that look in superheros.  Why can't anyone seem to find a square jawed, muscular guy who can act?  I mean, you can dye his hair, and heck, if you can find a decently big actor you can just put him in heavy weight training.  Even Dean Cain, a former NFL player, looked kind of skinny to me.

Superman didn't always look like a bodybuilder.  In the fifties and sixties, he was solidly built, but a bit...well, thick.  Like a Victor Mature type almost.

It's only recently that Supes and other heroes have started looking like steroid abusers, which not only is ugly but also makes it that much harder to believe anyone would be fooled by the Clark Kent disguise.

George Reeves started out in good shape (he was a pro boxer) but he had sloping shoulders (like Tom Cruise!) and compensated with shoulder pads, which had the unfortunate effect of making the whole physique look faked.  Christopher Reeve was in terrific shape for the first film.  And I think Dean Cain was very fit, too.

The problem is that comic books are not drawn realistically, despite all claims to the contrary.  There is no fabric in the universe that will show every muscle and sinew of the human physique as depicted on the comic book page.  Comic book heroes are drawn as if their costumes are spray-painted onto their bare bodies.

Spandex is as close as you'll get to "form-fitting," but even that can't cling to your "six-pack" or every tiny curve and groove of your muscles.  So even though Chris Reeve was amazingly "ripped," you didn't see the "definition" you would have with his shirt off.  And these days, it seems "definition" is everything.

The only way to see abdominal muscles, etc in a superhero costume is to fake it, as they did with Keaton's rubber Batman suit.  But that's not satisfying, either, and in fact it's pretty ridiculous.

So the bottom line is, unless someone comes up with a miracle fabric sometime soon, Superman will never look on screen the way he does in the comics.

But I agree the square jaw is a must.  Which is one of many reasons why the possibility of Nicholas Cage in the role was so darn scary.

Yeah, the ripped like a maniac thing is fairly new, but if you look at Luthor: Evil Genius (1941), Superman had a clearly defined body shape.  And both Reeve and Cain were in good shape, but they weren't in Superman shape.  He was, like you said, thick.  So far they haven't gotten anyone that's got the chest/arm proportions of Superman, and I know people like that exist because I've seen them.  That's one of my main things, is most of these guys have arms that are smallish in ration to their breadth and depth.

Also, diving suits give more definition than spandex, but although I like the look, it's not really what I mean, it's just the size/depth issue.  Clark is a big guy.

So I'm not really looking for a comic book Superman as an Alex Ross Superman.

...even Arnold in spandex (see the Running Man) doesn't seem as cut as Superman...
Btw - it's also a standard that applies to the female characters - I've never seen a girl shaped like Lois Lane, Catwoman, Supergirl, ect...  All the Dc good looking girls aren't just good looking, they're the world's best shaped women...

Watch the Lois&Clark pilate, part 2.  You see Dean Cain for a few minutes with his shirt off, and he really *is* in Superman shape - I'm serious, he was *way* more muscular than that costume made him look.  I think Nightwing was right, on this one.

People forget that Dean Cain used to be a professional football player.  He's probably more fit than most of the actors who played Superman.