# That superhero landing pose **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 3, 2021, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313 "2021-05-03T18:45:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/1 "2021-05-03T18:45:47Z")
You know the one. Superhero leaps and lands, with: flat back. One hand directly beneath him/her, one arm extended. One leg tucked under, one leg out at an awkward 45 degree angle. Where did this come from? I never read comic books much as a kid, and I’m not into Marvel movies…I can picture it in The Matrix, though. So who did it first? Is there a mash-up of every usage – like the Wilhelm Scream? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/2 "2021-05-03T19:02:27Z")
TV Trope - Three-Point Landing > **[Three-Point Landing - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThreePointLanding)** > > A popular visual trope often associated with martial arts. After performing a particularly cool move, or dropping from a great height, the character lands on the ground, feet wide apart and supporting their weight with one hand on the floor while … ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/3 "2021-05-03T19:20:55Z")
Perfect. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/4 "2021-05-03T19:21:40Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/EwUilIo036g/maxresdefault.jpg "Deadpool | 'Superhero Landing' | Official HD Clip 2016") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwUilIo036g) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/5 "2021-05-03T20:49:15Z")
Didn’t Arnold materialize from the future in that pose in the first Terminator movie (1984)? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/6 "2021-05-03T20:50:13Z")
I think that was more of a 4-point, full crouch. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/7 "2021-05-03T20:54:02Z")
Nope. He was nekkid, there would have been some, er, dangling. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/8 "2021-05-03T20:56:31Z")
It’s not just a hero pose, anymore. The bad guys in _The Mitchells vs the Machines_ do it (probably as a satire of Iron Man.) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/9 "2021-05-03T21:46:38Z")
So based on your link, it originated in Asian martial arts cinema and anime, and was brought to the West by _The Matrix,_ eventually becoming associated with superhero movies. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/10 "2021-05-03T22:10:09Z")
In my opinion, reading someone’s mind and deliberately posting threads right before the rightful and original owner of the thread idea gets a chance to do so should be a bannable offence. 🙃 ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/11 "2021-05-03T22:11:07Z")
It’s not my fault you forgot your tinfoil hat. 😉 ---
**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:** [May 4, 2021, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/12 "2021-05-04T01:55:10Z")
I bothered less by the pose then that the hero always falls too fast into it. It looks fake. It’s like the teleported into the pose, not that they flew or fell. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/13 "2021-05-04T04:07:42Z")
According to this article it was illustrator Adi Granov who came up with the pose for the cover of The Invincible Iron Man #76 in 1998. However, Granov himself says > “The inspiration behind this pose came from Japanese mech, where anime and manga characters do such poses. It’s great to be remembered for this,” > **[Superhero landing! How Adi Granov created Iron Man’s iconic pose](https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/culture/2017/10/13/superhero-landing-adi-granov-created-iron-mans-iconic-pose#:~:text=When%20it%20comes)** > > Worlds Of Wonder: There are few superhero poses as iconic as Iron Man and his three-point landing. We speak to the artist who created the pose, Adi Granov. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/14 "2021-05-04T04:44:13Z")
I’ve done the superhero landing. Unfortunately, I was falling out of bed at the time, which severely limited the coolness factor. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/15 "2021-05-04T06:20:51Z")
Squirrels are natural masters of the technique: [![](https://i.redd.it/drpgpefx6zl31.jpg) ](https://i.redd.it/drpgpefx6zl31.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/16 "2021-05-04T14:16:20Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I bothered less by the pose then that the hero always falls too fast into it. It looks fake. It’s like the teleported into the pose, not that they flew or fell. It looks cool, but because it’s a kind of “ready to pounce” pose, not because it makes sense as a landing. If there was realistic looking physics and gravity of 9.8ms-1, the hero’s knee and hand is going to hit the ground in a way that will look painful. What they should do is have the hero roll, or take the fall on feet and then hands, and transition into the superhero pose. Not gonna happen now though. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/17 "2021-05-04T14:21:40Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > If there was realistic looking physics and gravity of 9.8ms-1, the hero’s knee and hand is going to hit the ground in a way that will look painful. - [Kyle Hill explains](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u429Qgvoxw4) the science. (Youtube.) ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/18 "2021-05-04T14:26:38Z")
Thanks. It seems my WAG that this pose would be awful for landing was on point, but looking at the clips in the video, I was a bit wrong about the “ready to pounce” thing. Basically, it’s a bad landing _by design_; it’s smashing the ground as hard as you can, and showing just how hard your body is. I think I was thrown off a bit by the pictures of the squirrels and black widow, which are a slightly different pose. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-superhero-landing-pose/941313/19 "2021-05-10T18:34:39Z")
But’s cool when the hero lands in that pose while sliding across the ground, tearing up the floor/street/dirt with their hands and knee while not altering the pose even a bit.