Superman's physique in the next film.

[DGrayson]

There's a thread over in the Batman boards about how bulked up Christian Bale should be for the next Batman movie, and about the ideal body for Batman. I haven't seen a smiliar thread here (if there's already one, feel free to close this one). I personally always imagined Superman as more of a regular guy with muscle definition rather than a body builder as he is portrayed most of the time in the comics, he is not human after all and there really is no need for a lot of muscle since his physiology allows him to pick up and toss a car.


But how bulked up do you guys think the actor who protrays Superman in the next film should be?, Do you guys think it should look leaner than Bale in Batman or with more muscle mass?

 

[Young Superman]

IMO this is the perfect physique and costume for Superman.

 

[nocomics]

IMO this is the perfect physique and costume for Superman.

That build is fine with me not too bulky,not too slender..Now the suit is a different story and a different threadt:

 

[BH/HHH]

IMO this is the perfect physique and costume for Superman.

spot on

 

[Man of Steel]

IMO this is the perfect physique and costume for Superman.

This is Superman! Just change the symbol to the Smallville one and the whole thing, especially the physique, is perfect.

 

[Kryptonian Warrior]

IMO this is the perfect physique and costume for Superman.

Great looking suit. Was this Superman modeled after Chris Reeve? There sure is an uncanny resemblance.

 

[DIRECTOR]

Brandon Routh's body was just fine. It can't be a guy that is too bulky, he isn't suppose to be a meat head

 

[annie.j88]

Great looking suit. Was this Superman modeled after Chris Reeve? There sure is an uncanny resemblance.

iread somewhere that he was

 

[Young Superman]

Great looking suit. Was this Superman modeled after Chris Reeve? There sure is an uncanny resemblance.

Yes

 

[Alonsovich]

IMO this is the perfect physique and costume for Superman.

I don't like the bulky Supes that much... but there are much more types of Superman in the comics, enough variety to not end up with yet another Reeve clone... I'd say this time to look for a Supes that has a body more with a v-shape... broad shoulders and chest with smaller waist.

 

[Kurosawa]

Superman doesn't need to look insanely huge like a wrestler. Routh was built fine and that panel is fine.

 

[GinsterHead]

Brandon Routh had a pretty good physique for the role, but you could barely tell with that rubbery suit of his.

That picture above looks about right, anyway.

 

[JP]

God. This thread. Here we go. Like clockwork.

Can't wait for the cape, hair, and height threads.

 

[Rust]

Well, you cant really compare the above drawing to the real thing, because in comics everybody looks ripped more or less, but yes, it's been toned down a bit in the above drawing. But if you were to translate it to the real world, he'd still look as ripped as, say Schwarzenegger and I dont wanna look at that.

But yeah, Routh and also Welling look adequate. Tall, strong frames and naturally ripped.

 

[Adenjo]

I'm not saying Welling should be Superman but..
Smallville season 9 Welling was the perfect shape/height/build for Superman.

 

[matrix_ghost]

He needs to be bulky but not uber-bulky. Toned would be a better description however

1 It depends on when the actor portraying SUpes is cast , what physical state he's in and how long he has to train for the movie
I don't know the exat details but ROuth was skinny when he was cast as Supes and had 6 months to train for the role. You could use the same pattern for this movie . Of course if the actor is already muscular , it helps to get a better body. Look at Hugh Jackman. Post X2 he didn't drop the muscles an as result was better toned in Wolverine.

2 A huge size wouldn't matter if you have a lame suit
I'm sorry but the suit in Returns sucked. Get a big S on the chest .'

I was thinking about this a couple of days ago. With the news of Green Lantern getting a CG suit , do you guys think that WB might use a similar tactic for Superman. Not make an alien suit but rather creating a more muscular version of the suit.

 

[JBElliott]

I'd like to see the actor be big like Clint Walker (which is bigger than Routh and Reeve, both of whom were a bit to thin to really fill out the costume), but not especially cut, ripped, shredded or what ever.

The physique of the actor should feel like (though not look exactly like) the version of Clark/Superman drawn by Tim Sale in "Superman for all Seasons." The physique that Alex Ross draws for Superman would also be good.

An aside: the argument about Clark not being human and thus not needing to be muscular is silly and should be given a rest. Sure Clark could look like Dustin Hoffman and still be super strong since he's a Krytponian on Earth. The thing is, Superman has always been drawn as a large and well muscled man. So there's a lot of precedence for wanting that physique on an actor playing the part.

 

[B]

Tom Welling has had the perfect/best live action build for Superman since about season 6 of Smallville, onwards. His build has progressed with each passing series.
Brandon Routh's build is much more Superman like, now, than it was when he was in Superman Returns, rather annoyingly.

Whoever is cast should get a picture of what these 2 look like now & aim for something similar.

They need to give the actor time to prepare for the role as well, particularly if its someone that has never really trained in such a way before as they'll take a little longer to put on muscle than someone who trains regularly and/or has had that amount of muscle mass before.

 

[Rust]

I'd like to see the actor be big like Clint Walker (which is bigger than Routh and Reeve, both of whom were a bit to thin to really fill out the costume), but not especially cut, ripped, shredded or what ever.

The physique of the actor should feel like (though not look exactly like) the version of Clark/Superman drawn by Tim Sale in "Superman for all Seasons." The physique that Alex Ross draws for Superman would also be good.

I'm starting to think that Alex Ross actually used Walker for reference when drawing.

 

[JBElliott]

I'm starting to think that Alex Ross actually used Walker for reference when drawing.

Well I know Phil Noto thinks of Walker when he draws Superman (he said that specifically in an interview with Wizard Magazine years ago) and on this very board Jamal Igle has said as much and posted a sketch of that in the costume thread. I think SuperMike posted something about Ross using Walker as inspiration for Superman as well.

 

[Man of Tomorrow]

I'm fine with a Superman physique like this. Big enough to look imposing as Supes, but not bodybuilder size to ruin the Clark Kent disguise.

 

[not_a_victim]

I'm fine with a Superman physique like this. Big enough to look imposing as Supes, but not bodybuilder size to ruin the Clark Kent disguise.

You're right.
Some people blasted Routh for his physique, but he looked huge out of the costume. I think the prevailing theory is that the costume squeezed him so much, it made him look smaller, and took away some definition.

However, with guys like Jackman, Chiris Helmsworth, and now Chris Evans getting monster sized for their respective roles, I think we should/could have a Supes that is a monster. Not pro-wrestling monster sized, but BIG.
I mean, have you seen the pic of Chris Helmsworth as Thor when he is trying to pick up his hammer that was published a few months ago? That man has set the new standard for a true actor to gain musculature in a superhero movie, and, in a quirky twist, his costume won't show his physique at all...

 

[JBElliott]

You're right.
Some people blasted Routh for his physique, but he looked huge out of the costume. I think the prevailing theory is that the costume squeezed him so much, it made him look smaller, and took away some definition.

I don't think you can say that the suit squeezed him. Water is an incompressible fluid, and humans are largely water. So if you squeeze them in one place, other places will bugle. If the suit squeezed Routh's arms, then did his hands and head bulge?

I do think you can say the cut of the suit and placement of the cape etc. served to down play what bulk he had. When the suit came out there were several manips of it showing it with a larger S-shield, lower cut collar and cape attachment that were closer to the comics. In the resulting image Routh looked bigger.

However, with guys like Jackman, Chiris Helmsworth, and now Chris Evans getting monster sized for their respective roles, I think we should/could have a Supes that is a monster. Not pro-wrestling monster sized, but BIG.
I mean, have you seen the pic of Chris Helmsworth as Thor when he is trying to pick up his hammer that was published a few months ago? That man has set the new standard for a true actor to gain musculature in a superhero movie, and, in a quirky twist, his costume won't show his physique at all...

I don't think the actor needs to be ripped, shredded or exploded with veins popping everywhere, but I do think the actor needs to be thickly and heavily muscled, more than Routh or Reeve were. I don't think the actor should have the massive quads that body builders often have (while not having chicken legs either), the physique should be a little top heavy.

 

[Gianakin_]

Earth One costume and physique would be fine by me.

 

[JBElliott]

Earth One costume and physique would be fine by me.

I'm not a fan of it. The hair drawn on Superman there looks too "emo" and the costume is a mishmash of what's in style these days and the physique is the generic superhero physique. Nothing special there.