So all the talk about Thor and Wolverine taking notes from Mike Tyson has got me thinking. See, I picture THE EXPENDABLES as action movies’ answer to THE AVENGERS. Earth’s biggest badasses assembling for the first time, giving you Rambo, the Transporter and Det. John McClane in the same movie, just like JLA gives you Batman, Superman and Green Lantern in the same comic. The comparison draws attention, however, to what I think is as big of a conceit for superheroes as poorly-concealed secret identities. That is, a standard you just have to accept as part of your suspension of disbelief.

Superheroes are aspirational figures, obviously.   And a lot of people aspire to be muscular and dangerous. Hence, Spider-Man, Thor, Wolverine... and basically every other cape, have larger-than-life physiques. Hence, the profiles in the Official Handbook, Who’s Who and, of course, Comic Vine’s databases will more-often-than-not include “extensive martial arts training" in the character stats. But how often does it make sense, even in these fantasy worlds? 

Captain America? It makes sense. He's a super-solider who’s in so deep with his duties, you don't expect there's much to his life outside of fighting crime and training. But how many other characters do you figure will really be pumping their iron, knocking back their whey protein shakes and practicing their katas every day? If you've ever practiced a martial art, you'll know that kind of stuff is time-consuming.  == TEASER ==

And I just can't picture, say, the Atom fitting all of that in between all his White Dwarf research... yet look how big the famous little man's action figure is to the right. Similarly, I always find it amusing whenever the X-Men recruited some novice, wayward teen who just happens to be able to kick highly-trained anti-mutant agents' asses?

Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE. Order them on Amazon here & here.

i think x-men explained it once that the x-gene makes it so that you dont have to work out nearly as much as the regular human to have a great body. as for the training i agree, unless emma uploads it into u like the matrix

 I aways thought that Brandon Routhwas actually the perfect build for what Superman should be. Superman can lift a million tons... so how on Earth does he work out his muscles so he looks like a line backer... and why does he waste his time doing it? He has vast super strength regardless of how tone he is. I think less people would wonder why an alien who gets superpowers from the sun has a slight build, than people would wonder why Clark Kent looks like an Schwarzenegger stand in.
 
That said I do prefer the Marvel / DC archetypal hero over the typical sexually ambiguous, 95 pound, 13 year old panty-waist hero that litters manga / anime.

They don't necessarily need to be muscular but it gives the public more confidence if they see that the superhero looks like they are capable of stopping a speeding train, deflecting attacks, and strong enough to withstand copious amounts of pain.
 
I think they should be deadly though, whether it's physically, mentally, or preferably both.

For some characters it's ok to be muscular, especially the non-powered ones. Although sometimes the artists overdo it.

This is funny, because it's so similar to the Obesity in comics thread from the other day.  I would be AMAZED if super hero comics started portraying their women with a pot belly and wobbly thighs.  As much as I am loving Gabriele Dell'Otto's art on X-Force: Sex & Violence, his rendition of Domino is ludicrously skinny!  Somehow I suspect that 'realistic' women are something that only indie titles can achieve. 
 
But a friend of mine at work keeps moaning that the women in comics are too imbalanced in the T&A department.  To which I remind him that the male characters are equally idealised.  After all, I adore Mike Choi's work.  Yet the only human being who can closely resemble the majority of guys he draws is the chap who's playing Thor.  And I will shamefully admit that's not a bad thing :)

Another weird thing. Men in comics most of the times are muscular and ripped while women are always so model looking, even those you would expect to be muscular.

I wouldn't say its necessary but it certainly does help.

Agreed. Not only is it impossible and unnecessary, it's unhealthy. Kids read these and think that's what they have to look like to be hot. I have to have a six pack. I have to be able to fit into costumes that would not fit my little sister. I'm not saying comic books are responsible for eating disorders and over-expectant self-images, but everything helps-er...hurts.

They don't need to be muscular. I think they'd be fine as long as they are good fighters.

muscles => strenght => heroe

As Long as they Can save people in Ways no regular human could, They Qualify as Superheroes.

Most of the time in the X-Books at least those they recruit are awful fighters that they end up recusing from something then spending a large amount  training. 

no , but it should help !

I don't get how a lot of them are so muscular, like.. can't we just be a little realistic? Like being fit i understand.. but overly muscular? yeah right.

It comes with the Job.

I'd like to see a character who's not sp modelesque and doesn't have a chiseled face. I liked Angel Salvatore (bug girl) because she looked real......for a little while at least.

Do comedians have to be funny? 
 
No. But it just doesnt work if they're not.

oh where is that video of stewie playing with he-man explaining the whole muscular sub concious homo-eroticism thing when you need it

" @thegentlemanrogue: Ha! Did you ever see that SNL skit with the Rock as Clark Kent? "

Kick ass looked like wimp last time I saw him

Do they need muscles? Yes
Do they need a bodybuilder physique? No
 This reminds me of a time I saw a painting of Tarzan, his physique looked very stupid considering he grew up in the jungle and his build in the pic would never ever work in that environment, artist like Tim Bradstreet know how to draw a functional body, look at his work on The Punisher, he draws him Lean and deadly, and also Steve Dillon draws a functional physique from what I've seen.

" Course they will be, for starters all that runin n jumpn punchn kickn etc obviously helps keep it up an frankly they do tht alot. alot of characters train via sparing n this obviously will help alot(danger room sesions r not merely power training) that an u xpect thim to if there going to do what they do. go outside n wlk 3 miles without fluids n tell me how that went for u lol n thts nothin to these ppl. They could use a bit mor realism tho i mean not every musscle in the body shud show "

Bouncing Boy is doing pretty well for not being a muscular dude, he even dated Triplicate Girl lol

The body builder profiles help set the image and besides it's a matter of advertisement, a real marine's musculature doesn't really bring super-human at first sight. It's the dynamic you want in your heroes and the phony muscles bring that.

YES! Enough of these miniature wannabes.  I miss the bulky, crude, muscular barbarian type dude.  I miss Sly, Arnold and the rest.  The small man has filled the void for now and has had his chance.  No more chicks trying to save the world with an attitude, tho its kinda hot.  The big boy must return and this is just the beginning.  GIJOE, The A-Team, The Expendables and many more will return and take their rightful places kick shit. 

Well, if you're going to depict your characters in ridiculous, unrealistic outfits, might as well fill those outfits with ridiculous, unrealistic bodies. Comics aren't the first to do this. Classical Greek art often depicted heavily idealized human forms. Ever see some of the early images of Socrates? For an elderly philosopher, he looks pretty pumped.

I'm of the mindset that not all superheroes should be so equally muscular.  I mean, comics started with the heroes looking like they were fit male individuals, with exceptions like the Hulk being disproportionately large and muscular.  Now, everybody seems to have more or less the same body type with very few exceptions.  
Line up a couple of heroes silhouetted heroes with similar costumes next to one another and see if you can guess who is who based solely on body type. 
Again, look at guys like the Atom or Ant-Man.  Is there any reason these dudes should be so muscular?  What about Tony Stark?  Sure he needs to be in decent shape to operate the suit, but Tony often looks buff and I mean BUFF outside the tin can. 
Perhaps it's a matter of just drawing what LOOKS good, but I think artists should go out of there way to make sure some of these dudes get their own unique looks in terms of body size.

No but it does help.

The x-men are under constant training all the time, even when they don't have the danger room they are always trying to maintan their form and even the little kids studied martial arts with Cyclops and Wolverine or fencing with Nightcrawler.

  You know what?  This reminds me of a drawing comics article I read on the internet somewhere.  The artist, forget his name, said this exact quote.  "Remember!  Comic book anatomy is not the same as real anatomy so get your head out of that human anatomy book!"
 
  That pretty much sums it up if you ask me.

Most depictions I've seen of Spider-Man are pretty realistic. He's a thin guy, but he's really cut. And Spider-Man's allowed to look like that, as the spider bite actually adjusted his physique. It's mentioned directly in the comic.

Superheroes to look up to, that's what I say. They are more self-sacrifice than most, more cooler than most and they look better than most. 
 
If we saw Batman eating McDonald instead of training, what kind motivation would that give us? 
 

Ya they should be. Anything to get kids out and moving and stop being fat and lazy.
 
@xerox-kitty said:

 But a friend of mine at work keeps moaning that the women in comics are too imbalanced in the T&A department.  To which I remind him that the male characters are equally idealised.  After all, I adore Mike Choi's work.  Yet the only human being who can closely resemble the majority of guys he draws is the chap who's playing Thor.  And I will shamefully admit that's not a bad thing :) "

But John Stamos told me that physical appearance doesn't matter...
 
I think comics should show more heroes working out...and being sore the next day.  We see it sometimes, but it always feels like a disproportionate amount of time.  Let's see Colossus icing his shoulder after Fastball Special practice or Batman talking business but doing sit ups instead of sitting in an office chair.  At least kids would think, "I want to be just like those...oh wait, that looks like it would take a lot of effort.  Nevermind, I'd just rather be like Hank Pym...smart"

Molly Hayes is a perfect example of a character that is deadly put not muscular. I loved when she punched the punisher & wolverine.

The costumes come with steroids