The Uber-80's

Greetings All,

    Who remembers the cartoons and comics of the 80’s and 90’s; the ones where the characters were drawn with insanely large physiques?    He-Man, Thundercats, Superman (in that period), X-Men, and many others from that era featured bodies with inhuman proportions.  A friend of mine who is a diehard comic enthusiast/historian called it the “Uber 80’s”.  I guess it’s to be expected when the action stars of the day were Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.  The underline message: Big Muscles = Badass.  I do wonder how many bodybuilders today were inspired to get into the sport by watching after school cartoon heroes (or even villains).  

     I can only recall one example when bodybuilding was incorporated directly in a comic book type series.  “Max Rep:  Mr. AstroTitan 2206” featured cleaver storylines that blended bodybuilding and sci-fi.  The strip was run as a feature in Muscular Development magazine for years.  I think it would be awesome to have a full comic book series again that featured bodybuilding/sci-fi storylines.  It would be a great thing to sell in Gold’s Gym for the more geeky among us to read while doing cardio.  All is not lost however.  The amazingly great artist of the Max Rep comic strip, Mr. Lyman Dally, still maintains that universe through the eyes of Max’s female counterpart, Quadra Blu.  I wish there were more sci-fi/fitness stories out there; a bodybuilder type superhero (or just a bodybuilder type protagonist) might inspire more geeks to take to working out (we are not classically the fittest bunch).  I am tired of pretty-boy type supers that do nothing to inspire me to work out.  But alas I must remind myself that the Uber-80’s and 90’s are over and I must wait for the pendulum to swing back.

Posted with permission of Mr. Lyman Dally.

    The heroes and villains today look more like Muscle-Mania competitors rather than the Mr. Olympia type heroes of old.  Today cartoon animators and comic book artists are favoring a more streamlined body.  Movies are in on this trend too.  Endomorph is out and Ectomorph is in.  Action stars like Chris Evans, Ryan Reynolds and Brad Pitt are more lean/ripped body types.  What will be next, Rise of the Mesomorphs?

Super-Jerry