# Superheroes etc. who are NOT cut, muscular or sexy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 23, 2003, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566 "2003-12-23T01:32:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rexnervous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@rexnervous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rexnervous)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/1 "2003-12-23T01:32:31Z")
Just saw, for the umpteenth time, the commercial for the DVD of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Every cast member is handsome, sexy, muscular and whatnot. So, name me some superheroes who aren’t? And no, The Hulk doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/2 "2003-12-23T01:35:34Z")
That probably rules out The Thing, too. How about Plastic Man. ---
**Author:** ![Dizzy\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dizzy\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dizzy_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/3 "2003-12-23T01:36:12Z")
Never fear, [Common Multiple Man](http://community.webshots.com/photo/1497271/1497273zNsNzgzPkx) is here! ---
**Author:** ![FabioClone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5f8ce5/32.png) [@FabioClone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FabioClone)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/4 "2003-12-23T01:52:31Z")
Peter Parker was originally quite the wallflower. However, over the run of the comic, he eventually morphed into the cut, muscular, sexy beast he is today. And pretty much every hero from Alan Moore’s _Watchmen_. You probably don’t want to include villians, but I can’t help mentioning that The Blob is generally considered the antithesis of “cut, muscular, and sexy.” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/5 "2003-12-23T02:07:27Z")
Most heroes of the 40s and 50s were not portrayed as being “cut.” Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four was just a normal looking guy (when he wasn’t stretching all over the place). Believe it or not, that sort of muscle defintion was considered quite grotesque at the time. I blame it all on Neal Adams – one of my favorite comic book artists, but he pretty much invented the style. People talk about Jack Kirby’s influence – which was important – but most heros shown today are basically clones of Neal Adams’s work. Other non-sexy superheroes: [The Fat Fury](http://www.toonopedia.com/fatfury.htm), the original Captain Marvel (heck, the entire [Marvel Family](http://shazam.imginc.com/), [The Inferior Five](http://www.toonopedia.com/inferior.htm) (not counting Dumb Bunny, who was a dish), the original Wesley Dodds Sandman, and [Johnny Thunder](http://www.toonopedia.com/jthundr1.htm). ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy154](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ad7895/32.png) [@quiltguy154](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy154)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/6 "2003-12-23T02:27:36Z")
Bouncing Boy ---
**Author:** ![wildcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/439d5e/32.png) [@wildcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wildcat)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/7 "2003-12-23T02:34:09Z")
wasn’t captain kangaroo a superhero?.. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/8 "2003-12-23T02:38:52Z")
What, no mention of Puma Man? Sheesh! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/9 "2003-12-23T02:47:18Z")
The Moth, the sidekick on the Tick’s short-lived TV series. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/10 "2003-12-23T02:51:20Z")
Robin and Superboy ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/11 "2003-12-23T02:52:39Z")
Underdog ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/12 "2003-12-23T02:53:55Z")
Corageous Cat and Minute Mouse ---
**Author:** ![Dizzy\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dizzy\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dizzy_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/13 "2003-12-23T02:58:45Z")
Ah, they’re 1920s-style “death x-rays.” ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/14 "2003-12-23T03:03:41Z")
For that matter, the 1940’s-1950’s Batman wasn’t that ripped. Yes, he was big and strong, but he looked more like a professional wrestler of the era than like Mr. Universe. The ideal back then wasn’t a fantasticly low body-fat percentage, but what real athletes actually looked like. ---
**Author:** ![First\_Amongst\_Daves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4491bb/32.png) [@First\_Amongst\_Daves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/First_Amongst_Daves)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/15 "2003-12-23T04:19:04Z")
Does John Constantine from Hellblazer count as a superhero? Skinny chain smoking guy. The Drummer from Planetary isn’t muscle bound. The Doctor from The Authority is a veritable weed. In one issue, he admits to getting the crap beaten out of him at school. There are some pudgy, overweight superhero/cops in Top Ten. And finally, Elongated Man is a skinny-ish guy. Maybe those stretchy types just don’t need muscles. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/16 "2003-12-23T04:33:57Z")
Puck from Alpha Flight was really short. ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/17 "2003-12-23T04:39:45Z")
Prof X is just an old bald dude in a wheelchair… oh, sure, he can MAKE the chicks _think_ he’s sexy, but that don’t count… ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/18 "2003-12-23T04:56:14Z")
The golden age Sandman. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/19 "2003-12-23T05:03:32Z")
Most of the Xavier institute’s students in _New X-Men_. Although they aren’t full-fledged “heroes” (or villains?) quite yet. Marvel’s “Madame Web” is an elderly, completely paralyzed woman, permenantly attached to a life support system. Marvel’s “Warlock” is/was a goofy looking robot. About one quarter of _X-Statix_ is fairly unattractive, at any one time. (Membership constantly shifts, of course.) ---
**Author:** ![First\_Amongst\_Daves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4491bb/32.png) [@First\_Amongst\_Daves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/First_Amongst_Daves)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566/20 "2003-12-23T05:10:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by shy guy \* > \*\*The golden age Sandman. \*\* Only Matt Wagner’s revamp had him as a bookish and almost introverted guy. Jerry Ordway draw The Sandman as your typical muscle bound hero in the pages of All Star Squadron, for example. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superheroes-etc-who-are-not-cut-muscular-or-sexy/220566.md?page=2)