The Superman Look: Shaping Superman

[sithgoblin]

Forgive me for posting a Welling pic, but I think this is the perfect build for Superman. It could realisticlly be achieved too. And you can't even really see any definition. Supes just needs a huge chest and shoulders, much bigger than Brandon had. If he works them up for the sequel he should be ok.

 

[The Kid]

What I'm wondering as I read all this is, and please forgive the caps WHAT'S THE POINT???, the real problem with SR was that it was so dark EVEN IF routh was built like a wrestler you couldn't see it. You couldn't even see spacey.

 

[sithgoblin]

To each his own. I didn't have a problem with the lighting of SR, in fact I thought it was one of its positive points. Reminded me of Fleischer.

 

[The Kid]

I know, I know... that actually might have been what they were trying to emulate but it didn't work like fleischer's lighting did for me. It just reminded me more of when I turned the lights off in my room last night.

The problem seems to be that most scenes took place at night or in a dark room. So I wonder what would it really matter if a few changes were made to appearance when it's already difficult to see what was originally there anyway.

 

[swifty]

in all honesty you guys make the Village People look straight.

j/k

 

[lujho]

you think that suit was bad? check this shot out...

This was an interesting suit. The muscle suit underneath had an angular, non-organic shaping to it - very stylized. All planes and edges. It made some really interesting highlights with this dramatic lighting, especially on the arms and legs - though you can't see it too well in this capture.

It didn't quite work but it was an interesting experiment nonetheless. I think something a bit like it could work for Batman where you see hints of armour under the suit - but they'd have to refine the shape of the undersuit.

As for Routh's build - the problem is he just has a narrow frame - he's broad shouldered because of all the muscle he put on, but he's not broad chested. His pecs just sit there in front of his chest, wheras if you look at Gerard Butler's pecs they seem a lot wider and they seem to spread out a lot more. Same when you compare Routh to Reeve. This is why his \S/ was so much smaller than it would be on a guy like Reeve - a bigger one just wouldn't really fit. A wider S needs a wider chest.

Routh's Superman is simply not broad chested and I'm not sure it there's a way to fix it - maybe different workout could do it, or perhaps padding in the suit, but it may not be possible. It make simply be a matter of basic anatomy - his frame (i.e. the skeleton) is shaped a certain way and there's no way he can have a naturally wider looking chest like Reeved did and Gerard butler does.

Also, the "hourglass" look has to be fixed by either better padding or bulking up the muscles in his sides to thicken him up a bit.

 

[lujho]

This IS a test suit, not the final.

The Bevel of the S is different especially. I like this one better. The whole face of the S is flat with only the sides bevelled. From the doccu you can tell that this was referred to as the "Bevel S" and the one they used was the "Spine S". The Spine S was okay but I like this flatter one much better.

You see a few boots with better cuts to their tops in the docco too. I don't think you see any with the traditional "M"-cut boot-tops (which there was really no reason not to go with at all) but you do see some that are more symmetrical rather than the diagonal "Mr Incredible" boots we got.

 

[Super Kal]

it's loads better than what was used...

 

[WormyT]

One way or the other, it looks like he has alot of working out to do for the sequel. recent pic:

Wow!! Yep, he deinitely needs to follow Wellings diet and exercise regiment.

 

[GreenKToo]

If only we could put brandon's face on wellings body,but he has plenty of time to bulk up for the sequel,so no worries.

 

[lujho]

the biggest problem with the trunks isn't so much it's size, it's the way they were cut. when you lift your leg...you form a natural fold at your hips and that's where the trunks should've been cut, but whoever designed made it so that the cut went from his crotch almost straight to the side. that's the biggest flaw of it.....of course, the other flaw was that it was too low cut.

both of those problems were addressed in my manip....and kudos to those who agree with me on the hair and the suit.

Agreed. I liked the idea of squareish cut trunks but they don't work too well on Brandon.

Making the cut of the trunk-legs come up higher on the sides turns the trunks into kind of a triangle shape which kind of mirrors the S. It also makes the legs look longer, and since Brandon is somewhat short-legged/long-torsoed it would help a lot - especially combined with raising the belt an inch or two, which would further shorten/thicken the torso and lengthen the appearance of the legs.

It's funny... the film-makers/costume designers talked about working with the body they got (which was considerably different from the model whose bodycast they used to design the costumes before Brandon was cast). They did the exact opposite, designing a suit that did the absolute best it could to highlighted Brandons weaknesses.

 

[TheBat812]

Wow!! Yep, he deinitely needs to follow Wellings diet and exercise regiment.

Welling doesnt train.

 

[DvilDog]

I had heard Welling was just a naturally big guy. But he has to do a little something?

 

[TheBat812]

I've read interviews where he says he does every once in a while, but really doesn't have the time.

 

[NotFadeAway]

too skinny?

bullocks...i'm more than sure if they gave him a suit that accentuated his body instead of detracted from it we wouldn't be having this discussion. and i'm also pretty sure that IF they do it right and have Routh get his ideal build BEFORE they start making the suit for the next one we won't be having a repeat discussion when SR2 comes out.

In these pictures Routh actually looks similiar to the guys in 300, arms and legs wise atleast. Never saw Routh's abs so I have no idea how they held up. Routh should have went for a bulkier look while retaining slight definition.

In all fairness to Routh, he didn't have that long to train, and they designed the suit while Routh was in the process of getting in shape so he could only afford to get so big, although they should have let Routh get as muscular as possible and then designed the suits. F-ing Singer.......

 

[Eros]

why does it matter how defined or big he is? If you haven't noticed in superman movies, superman never has his shirt off for even a second. Reeve never did a shirtless scene, and im assume Singar is following the same fashion as the old movies. Clark kent usally wears big baggy clothing, and since we never see what Clark does at home [if he even has one] in superman returns[or anyother superman movie] i assume he spends the majority of his time with his clothes on. Hell only Dean Cain and Tom welling have done numerous shirtless scenes playing Clark kent or Superman.

 

[NotFadeAway]

why does it matter how defined or big he is? If you haven't noticed in superman movies, superman never has his shirt off for even a second. Reeve never did a shirtless scene, and im assume Singar is following the same fashion as the old movies. Clark kent usally wears big baggy clothing, and since we never see what Clark does at home [if he even has one] in superman returns[or anyother superman movie] i assume he spends the majority of his time with his clothes on. Hell only Dean Cain and Tom welling have done numerous shirtless scenes playing Clark kent or Superman.

LMFAO!!!!!!!!!

 

[Motown Marvel]

damn, his shoulders look ginormous in those pics.

 

[Lighthouse]

ANY suit they put on him, even if its straight up spandex, is gonna cause muscle constraint and take away some definition.

i think something that would help is if they opened the neck line of the suit...it would make his shoulder apear much more broad.

Agree 100%. Routh is obviously very well built for Superman, but I think the suit makes him look skinnier than he is. The changing of the neckline would work wonders.

 

[DorkyFresh]

In all fairness to Routh, he didn't have that long to train, and they designed the suit while Routh was in the process of getting in shape so he could only afford to get so big, although they should have let Routh get as muscular as possible and then designed the suits. F-ing Singer.......

hopefully this time around they'll give Routh enough time to get into the ideal build BEFORE they start making the suit...

...and hopefully this time they'll go with a more stretchy material that won't squeeze his muscles out, but i doubt it. i'd be surprised if they even change the neckline...

 

[DarkSuperman]

Forgive me for posting a Welling pic, but I think this is the perfect build for Superman. It could realisticlly be achieved too. And you can't even really see any definition. Supes just needs a huge chest and shoulders, much bigger than Brandon had. If he works them up for the sequel he should be ok.

Wow, thats a really smooth pictures. You see the problem I think isn't with Routh's physique, but with that wet suit they had him flying around him. That thick material destroys all possibility of seeing the definition in his muscles and body.

Oh, yeah...the Costume in that pic looks great BTW.

 

[FlawlessVictory]

why does it matter how defined or big he is? If you haven't noticed in superman movies, superman never has his shirt off for even a second.

Hospital scene in SR when the doctors remove his suit.

 

[dark_b]

Wow, thats a really smooth pictures. You see the problem I think isn't with Routh's physique, but with that wet suit they had him flying around him. That thick material destroys all possibility of seeing the definition in his muscles and body.

Oh, yeah...the Costume in that pic looks great BTW.

do you even realize what material would they have to use to see the muscles? and than you have a spiderman movie with ultrahighteck materials.

plus the material is not even thick

 

[Super Kal]

it may not be thick, but it was constricting...

 

[dark_b]

even if he was build better he would still need padding when he is on the harness because it deforms the build and it looks like ****. the padding helps with the ilusion.