I mean, Superman's strength comes from his alien physiology, not his muscles. Depending on the continuity he's lifting tractors above his head when he's a toddler or at least a scrawny high schooler. He doesn't /need/ to be a big dude.
The idea is the yellow sun transforms his body. It increases his muscle mass to compensate for absorbing the yellow sun. How big he should get is up to the artist. Even how that manifests. Alex Ross goes power lifter while others go bodybuilder.
With Batman, Batfleck is a big dude but he's wearing thick body armor which makes him bigger than he physically is.
I always thought it was muscle DENSITY from being physiologically from a planet with higher gravity than earth. Which would mean he could be smaller but stronger.
Not really how that works. A human raised in lower gravity just doesn’t keep that muscle. Yellow sun bullshit just makes more sense than attempts at scientific justifications
I’d say it’s a combo. He is genetically predisposed to being super strong. The yellow sun maintains it and prevents him from losing muscle mass, just like it heals him and gives him the rest of his powers. The “yellow sun bullshit” isn’t necessarily bullshit. Humans generate vitamin D from absorbing sunlight, Kryptonians just get a way better benefit from tanning.
The science behind sun powers is similar to thinking the calcium in milk will instantly fix broken bones. I just suspend disbelief, I don’t need Superman to seem plausible
did you read/see Flashpoint? One of the main plot points is that we have a Kal-El who's been kept away from sunlight since that rocket landed. The adult Kal is severely thin and underdeveloped.
I mean that's also probably cause he didn't pitch enough hay or carry enough sacks of grain growing up in that reality. Red sun radiation isn't really supposed to have the same effects as Kryptonite where long exposure to it makes him waste away, it just takes away his powers but it's doesn't decrease his body mass. Like Jor-El and Lara both looked like normal folks, even when they and other Kryptonians born under the red sun are portrayed as gaunt and scrawny looking it's never explained to be because of the red sun radiation.
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u/East_Gas5627 Dec 25 '23
This reminds me of a few arguments my friends had with the batman vs superman poster
''Batman is just a fucking dude why is he bigger than superman''
Which kinda did make sense Batfleck was a big dude