CURIOUS

[simmysim.livejournal.com]

I made the following for a friend, to help clear her mind of bad art. It got me curious. The art is different for every arc, so we get a different Tony and a different Steve every few issues, but most people who read fic, or even just think about characters while they aren't reading comics, have a picture in their head that is their own representation of the character.



alright I decided to change them to links since they're stretching the screen and I hate that :||

Tony in my head collage. I thought I preferred Tony with a more long/lanky/angular look but uh lol apparently not!

Steve in my head collage.

Steve didn't surprise me at all, I am very aware that I like him to look like a fucking tank. xD
I was gonna be more comprehensive but life D:



Who is Tony and who is Steve in your head? What are your favorite looks? There are so many different variations of these guys, I'm really curious to see what some of you picture when you write and read!

Comments

[onewayfreak.livejournal.com]

WE'VE COVERED THIS ALREADY but yeah I agree wholeheartedly. Round face. :D

and EIGHT METER WIDE SHOULDERS :DDDDD


ALSO ALSO gosh I love Tony's ~*giant blue eyes*~ in the ones with Ru. : )))))

[simmysim.livejournal.com]

ROUND FACE BIG EYES I want everyone to look like a Disney character apparently. :P

I think I do like the lanky look, it's just that most of the time when people draw it comes across as drug addicted rather than like. Well, see icon.

[ani-bester.livejournal.com]

Tony pretty much along the lines of what you posted. Though I do seem him as a bit lankier. Whenever I draw him, I tend to give him pronounce and high cheekbones. I've been very influenced by Miller's take on him from Ultimates I think, and it's still one of my favorite Tony character designs.

Steve, man I'm currently in love with Cassaday's take on Steve from the Marvel Knight's Captain America reboot. he's not as big as some people's Cap, and I like that because I have a preference for a smaller build than the built like a tank look. I've seen it argued that Cassaday made him to small, but *shrugs*

Again, I'm also partial to Miller's Ultimate look. He was big without I don't know looking to silly. I also like the Avenges artist who did the Hawkeye Cap conversation, which you have a scan of in the very bottom right. He has a lot of boyish charm and personality captures in his face and I always thought that artist did a good job getting the character as well as the look.

So umm yeah I guess that summarizes how I see him, big but with a certain boyish charm *L*

[simmysim.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, yes, I definitely like Steve's Ultimates look, if only I liked ultimates D:

[kijikun.livejournal.com]

Whose heads are in Tony's lap on of the bottom pics in that collage?

....

Okay that sounded bad.

But yes that is so what Tony (and I love how much RDJ fits that look) and Steve should look like.

[simmysim.livejournal.com]

Lol I've tried to reply to this like 12 times and keep getting distracted.

OKAY they're refugees, Tony stumbled on this awful totalitarian government that was killing its people, and he went underground with them. That's a daughter and her mother. I believe the mother ends up putting on this old suit of his that melds into her body somehow, or she can't live without it? something. He saves them all, and the woman ends up following Tony to New York to beg him to kill her. he refuses, so she busts up Pepper (causing her to miscarriage). It's around issue 55 i think, V3.

[neptunedream.livejournal.com]

Personally, I'm not a fan of scraggly Tony (see 90's art for more detail). I actually visualize him more along the lines of the two pics in the middle of the collage with the bluish-purplish tone (second row up in the middle, posed with hand on temple). Man I am good at explaining things. I also hate it when he's drawn as being upper-middle aged. I think of him around 32. I would say I like Jimmy Cheung's version of him the best, but Cheung draws everyone pretty much the same. But I still like it.

Cap? Not so friggin' broad. Sure, he's physically superior to pretty much everything, but it doesn't mean he has to look like he's Mr. Universe on steroids. He can't look like a giant oaf if he's to have any agility, etc. It just doesn't work for me. Otherwise, Steve is a handsome guy and is fortunate to not have as many variations as Tony. This is, of course, omitting What If? Fallen Son. That was just plain terrible, as has already been acknowledged.

So I'll take him any way. XD

My personal favorite, however, is disappointed Cap. See icon.

[onewayfreak.livejournal.com]

Just curious, is there a representation of your definition of "too broad" in the Steve collage?

[jwaneeta.livejournal.com]

I have about six different Tonys in my brain, and maybe three Steves. Strangely they don't conflict and they all have something to recommend them. :D

That said, I love these collages. May I save them?

[simmysim.livejournal.com]

LOL of course!! :D

Any pictures or examples you can think of for your guys?

[smilingskull.livejournal.com]

I'm also of the tall/lanky/angular school for Tony. This is going to be the weirdest comparison ever, but I picture him as a more attractive/groomed Gordon Freeman (from Half-Life), only with the right hair color. (I have a feeling that's mostly because I started playing H-L right around when I picked up IM, so my wires may have gotten crossed. Dude with a suit and van dyke who can kill you with SCIENCE? Yeah, could be either of them.) Sort of how he's drawn in those panels with Ru. (Although his hair's always shorter in my head)

As for Steve, because my brain gets in the way of comic book science sometimes, I tend to think of him with a narrower face (BUT THE EPIC CHIN!) just because changing muscle mass and whatnot is one thing, but the SSS shouldn't have been able to change his whole bone structure. I love (and picture him as) how he was drawn during the arc in NA dealing with the Sentry back in like 05 (which are the pictures you've got of him in the blue t-shirt with the white collar.) So mildly tank like, but still in a really odd, odd way slightly bony. That doesn't even make sense, so pretend it does? :D

Either way, I tend to picture them both as less comic book and more real life when I write, just because it's what my brain defaults to. (SORTA!LONG COMMENT IS SORTA!LONG, SORRY. D:)

[onewayfreak.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I've never made the Freeman comparison before, wow. Now I can't stop thinking about it. I think the reason I never saw it was that I always saw Freeman as a little bit awkward, where Tony is kind of the opposite of that. But yeah I can see where you're coming from.

That's my favourite Steve too!

AND YEAH, when I'm writing/reading, I'm picturing real life versions of my favourite drawn Steves and Tonys. No one who hasn't been in a drawn fandom understands that. :D

[dorcas-gustine.livejournal.com]

Mostly, I'm with you.

Specifically, this is my Steve:

(Ah, Carol, you get all the luck. And still, Steve is one of the few men I "know" who are comfortable to hug a female friend to comfort her without any sexual overtones!)

And this is my Tony:

Really loved Maleev's run of CW: The Confession. This is exactly how I picture Tony. Also, the lip-biting is very hot. (And yes, his eyes should be blue, but that's the colorist's fault).

[simmysim.livejournal.com]

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

I KNEW I WAS FORGETTING SOMETHING

[pandanoai.livejournal.com]

both of your collages are fabulous! they gave me all sorts of memories! (and they are very pretty to look at!) i DEFINITELY agree with most of your tony and i do admit i like my steve a bit broad myself :3

(http://pics.livejournal.com/pandanoai/pic/000hqrh5/)

oh and i agree with the people on here who said that they mix like... a real person/not so much drawn version of steve or tony in their heads while reading or writing things. I do this too. In fact i had a dream once that had tony stark (in a sword fight with stephen colbert >.>) in it and he wasn't a "drawing" but he wasn't RDJ either.

[smilingskull.livejournal.com]

Ok, you offically have the most badass, awesome dreams ever. :D

[sdroid.livejournal.com]

You've pretty much captured my Tony XD I've always seen him as in shape but not BUFF like his fellow heroes. I mean, you have to be fit to fight like he does, but the suit has all the muscle behind it, so he doesn't really have to worry about getting really built. And I agree that Tony should be in his early 30s -- the DoS Haunted arc was amazing, but it was like Old Man Tony, yo.

Steve, I'd probably have to say what we see in the first few issues of New Avengers after Cheung's run (you have a picture of him in the upper middle). I love Cheung's art work to pieces, but, yeah, everyone kind of looks the same (I always though his Maria Hill looked like Tony without the goatee). Steve's also in his 30s in my head, nevermind he's actually in his 80s -- he was 20 when he was recruited, and it's been ten years since he got out of the ice, so yeah.

[sdroid.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, and Steve is buff, but not BUFF.

The end.

[cygna-hime.livejournal.com]

Count me in on the not-too-buff!Steve school. My rationale is purely selfish: I don't like muscle-bound guys => muscle-bound guys are not perfect. Steve is physically perfect => Steve is not a muscle-bound guy. It's logical, granted that my opinions are objective measures of reality. WHICH THEY SO ARE.

Steve in my head is *solid*, strong-looking in a comforting way. He looks like a very fit guy, but not a weightlifter or something silly like that. Because that's not huggable, and Steve must be huggable.

[helva2260.livejournal.com]

Yes. This. Absolutely! I keep coming up with good semi-plausible reasons why Steve shouldn't be too buff, but it pretty much boils down to "I don't like muscle-bound guys" and "Steve should be huggable" *g*.

[ani-bester.livejournal.com]

I figured I'd post the images that were probably most influential on me when it comes to drawing Steve.

Tony is just . . Tony is his cheeks, facial hair, and touch of mischief, and when I get that right, as an artist, I'm happy *L*

Anyway: Steve Face

artists are: Gabriele Dell'Otto (secret War), Jea Lee (MK: Captain America), Cassaday (MK: Captain America), and Brain Hitch (The Ultimates)
Crying Steve btw FTW. OMG I want to hug him. Hands down Hitch is the most influential on my lok for Steve, probably followed closely by to Cassaday.

Steve Build

Artists are: Butch Guice (Ultimates Origin#2), Brian Hitch again and Gabriele Dell'Otto again.

Guice's Steve is about as big as I can take him. Big certainly but not ridiculously. I give Guice major props though because 90% of the story was pre-serum Steve, and he did a god job of keeping it looking like the same person, especially in the face.

I wish I'd gotten a good scan of Cassaday's Steve but I don't feel like going through the 9/11 issue right now ^^;; Sorry.

[twins-eternal.livejournal.com]

:3
yum yum!
I want Ult!Caps shirt like burning <333

[jynx.livejournal.com]

WHEN DID CHENG DO TONY!?

my, that sounds kinky~

[simmysim.livejournal.com]

Oh, sorry I didn't reply to this right away D: Jim Cheung did New Avengers 25 (http://www.sendspace.com/file/8og9jt), one of my favorite issues.

[morgulq.livejournal.com]

This is probably the weirdest out of everyone's but Tony-in-my-head is like a whiter version of Tony Leung. Because that man does sneaky, and manipulative, and badass, and brilliant and then he nails you. With. Those. EYES.

*wibbles*

I also believe that he is the Asian Johnny Depp. Do we sense a fangirl? *raises hand*

I'm probably sounding like a broken record, or at least my very old Dark Side of the Moon, here but Mental!Steve is always and forever 1602!Steve. Partially because that was the first comic I ever read that actually had him in it beyond a frame or two, partially because it's my favourite Marvel comic and almost certainly because they got the muscle ratio RIGHT. He's big...but not too big, badass but so totally the mother hen all at the same time and his chin doesn't have its own gravitational pull!

*guh*

[ealainn.livejournal.com]

"This is probably the weirdest out of everyone's but Tony-in-my-head is like a whiter version of Tony Leung. Because that man does sneaky, and manipulative, and badass, and brilliant and then he nails you. With. Those. EYES."

Oh laws, now that you've said it it could not be more true. And it is really not something I am at all unhappy about. Tony!Tony is just... purrrrr. And couple that with 1602!Steve... oh heaven....

[th3newblack.livejournal.com]

SO LATE TO ALL THE ACTUALLY GOOD POSTS TODAY WTF. This is really interesting to see though!!


I have a pretty cemented image of Tony in my head, though I couldn't say one artist ever entirely got everything I like, so here's some of my favs. All around I like him to have obviously good bone structure (cheek bones/firm chin/long, thin bridge nose, etc). As an aside, I liked when artists drew him with a good amount of chest/arm hair, etc, tears that waxing became the trend in comics over the past 10 years or so ;_; And agreeing with sdroid up there that I like Tony as a relativity average/just mildly muscular build. Though I kinda disagree age wise, I like it when he's drawn to look late thirties/early forties, which is why the 90's art trips me up a lot (half the time he looked like, mid 20s...) XD Which I guess depends on which kind of handsomeness you like, I like more of a refined look than the kind of SMOULDER MCHOTTY of the Granov art XD


Except for this panel. This is everything I want in a man, right here.

Though as for Steve, I dunno, I'm fairly flexible about him because he doesn't seem to have as many NEED TO BE THERE traits to me, beyond an epic chin and yes, a brick shithouse.

[th3newblack.livejournal.com]

(also it dawned on me why I was somewhat scrounging for recent stuff cause I know I like SOME, and then remembered that it's not 616. Or comic book art. Ultimate animated Tony (http://pics.livejournal.com/th3newblack/pic/004881ef) is my favourite currentish Tony, which probably is what shows the most in my fanart XD)

[helva2260.livejournal.com]

I think my mental image is somewhere between the Tony in the mall with Rumiko and Santa (and btw, that looks like such a fun story... she is joking about wanting more diamonds, right?) and the Tony in the red overshirt and black T-shirt. Leanly built, with the smooth muscle contours you get from swimming/running/dancing/yoga rather than lifting weights. I see him as an endurance and flexibility person rather than a "how much weight can I lift?" person. And the same with his face - not too broad or heavily built, but no really sharp angles either.

Actually, RDJ worked well for me (as long as I suspended disbelief that Obie apparently waited at least 10-15 years after Tony took the reins of the company to make his move) except for when he was gelling his hair back... for some reason I do not like gelled hair! In contrast, I didn't much like Adi Granov's Tony in "Extremis": his face was too rounded, too smooth, and he ended up reminding me of Chip in NCIS, which was a little disconcerting!

[simmysim.livejournal.com]

It is really fun. She is, sort of, lol, she's had a disappointing Christmas thus far. you can dl it here (http://www.mediafire.com/?ynfnyzyyodm).

I enjoyed the look of Extremis but yeah the Tony didn't really fit in my mind. Plus he looked eerily like a guy I used to go to school with, so NO GO.

The best Tony Stark art is like, Maravel Adventures

[jazzypom.livejournal.com]

I need to post some scans from my comic books, because Tony looks so much like Tony there. He's rocking his goatee, keeps his hair shorter, because it has a tendency to curl and spiral into corkscrews when it was longer.

I actually liked Tony in the 90s, with his Trevor Fitzroy wedge and bangs, and I think the van dyke is like, the best facial scaping he's rocking. Without it, sorry to say, Tony has a small chin.

Re: The best Tony Stark art is like, Maravel Adventures

[simmysim.livejournal.com]

The only problem is Tony's in his suit 95% of the time and then for like another 2% all he's got is the faceplate up :C

this is the only shot of him totally out of it that I can remember off hand, actually:



oh now that I say it, there's the one with the snakes, there's a few shots of him in just a business suit in that as well.

Also, I see Stark as being lean

[jazzypom.livejournal.com]

Growing up, he'd have done tennis (although, in that arc with Tyberius Stone, he said he was a quarterback on his college team?), swimming, sailing, etc. and since he seems to get caught up in work, superheroing, et al, he might miss a meal or three, so he has a tendency to gawk if he lost too much weight.

I was never really a fan of the Errol Flynn stache (too dated), or when they had his hair shellacked in waves. Also, Stark's face should be angular, sharp cheekbones (he has a narrow face with highly defined features).

UGH, I can't find stuff online. Depending on how cooperative my camera is feeling, I'll post.

For Steve Rogers? I actually like Cho's rendition of him. He's attractive, and big. Most artists tend to get Steve right, he's just all American, blond hair, blue eyed, even featured, with a straight nose and teeth.

Re: Also, I see Stark as being lean

[jwaneeta.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Cho is another guy who draws Tony well.

[skyearth85.livejournal.com]

I have question, from where they come from:
- Tony Christmas-shopping with Rumiko (and asking to Santa for his present AWH)
- the ones in the right with Tony and (?)Rumiko celebrating
- Steve and the door (bottom)

thaaaaanks :)

[empty-splendor.livejournal.com]

Sorry. I deleted and reposted. It's vol 3 number 62. Not four.

[triedunture.livejournal.com]

This has given me a lot of food for thought. I guess fanfic needs a cemented version of all the characters. I know I have one in my head but I should really get down to defining it so I don't eff up and call Tony lean in one chapter and then hunky-buff in another.

Man, comics. You're a lot of work!

[simmysim.livejournal.com]

I actually went through that in a fic I'm doing now xD i referred to Tony as like late 20s in one chapter than late 30s in another. OOPS.

[skyearth85.livejournal.com]

The first is, of course, for Cap (muscular, but not OMG), the second for Tony (plus bonus!Cap, because, we all love him, isn't?)

btw, how is possible that I just noticed that Cap is calling Tony by is surname in CW? ç___ç Even when he was really angry with him, he was always Tony (and also in the begin it was Tony)

Honorable mention to Turner ç___ç. The covers art for Fallen Son are amazing .

[ani-bester.livejournal.com]

OH Leonardo Manco is *love*
His run on Hellblazer is some of the best Hellblazer art *ever*
I did not know he'd drawn Steve and Tony! I may have to look those up.


And yes the last name thing 0.o
Maybe it wasn't an angry thing, maybe it was a distancing thing. You know calling him Tony hurt too much so he calls him Stark so he can actually fight against him. Using the name "Stark" also ties Tony more to his company the to the man who is Steve's friend. It's ummmm crap crap I used to know the soldier word for this kind of thing but I forget. But it's like a dehumanization trick

Right, Stark photos from my Ironman digests

[jazzypom.livejournal.com]

The only black and white one is the Stark I grew up with in the eighties - wavy hair, pencil thin stache, to then a Magnum PI stache, but the Tony Stark in my head is Marvel Adventures. Fie on y'all for overlooking MA:Iron Man Stark.

Sorry, my scanner is busted

[jazzypom.livejournal.com]

So it's my digital camera and some judicious editing in picassa 3.

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

The Legacy of Doom mini with Don Lim and the blessed Bob Layton on inks featured a great Tony (and also young!Tony). With, like, facial expressions even!

(http://s118.photobucket.com/albums/o118/Bluesrat/Legacy%20of%20Doom/?action=view&current=img003.jpg) (http://s118.photobucket.com/albums/o118/Bluesrat/Legacy%20of%20Doom/?action=view&current=LegacyofDoom4009copy.jpg) (http://s118.photobucket.com/albums/o118/Bluesrat/Legacy%20of%20Doom/?action=view&current=LegacyofDoom4010copy.jpg) (http://s118.photobucket.com/albums/o118/Bluesrat/Legacy%20of%20Doom/?action=view&current=IromMan-023.jpg)

Damn, Dom Lim

[jazzypom.livejournal.com]

That's like, pretty classic 90s Stark there. The first picture in the first panel is like, so Tony. I don't miss the pornstashe at all.

Wow, it's been interesting trawling through the favourite Tony Stark and Steve Rogers rendering. I've only just discovered that I'm pretty easy re: Rogers, as long as he's reasonably attractive, whereas I'm all, no, Tony needs to have a van dyke, and be pretty lean, etc, etc,. I'm such a madam.

For Steve Rogers

[jazzypom.livejournal.com]

I must be a bad slasher, because I'm pretty easy with what Steve looks like. He's all American, so he has even features, handsome, but not in an overbearing way. Whereas Tony Stark is all dark and liquid good looks, Steve is light haired and his looks aren't so intense. His looks are all-American, in the best sense of the word. The only artist I have issues with re: Captain America is David Finch. He has the body, but Finch does these strange scrunched up faces, with snubby noses and twisted mouths. However, Finch can do Captain America in terms of physicality and that great swashbuckling way of his.

Square jawed, blond hair, blue eyes. However, I insist that the artist gets Steve's physicality right. I like Ultimates Cap's body in that the artists tend to draw him in such a way that isn't too bulky. In Marvel Adventures, Cap's body is strong, bigger than everyone's but not too OTT.

I think Epting's Captain America was the one I was raised with (The Mighty Avengers circa 80s, 90s), and his Captain America was more on the lean side, never too heavy.



I must admit, Captain America during the Civil War was more hit than miss in terms of rendering, and since that's the last time I've seen Steve (more or less) I can't say.

Ultimates Captain America isn't bad, in terms of looks (the art in The Annual is a bit sketchy though).

[tresa-cho.livejournal.com]

Wow. I am so outclassed here. I've only read YA and CW. I'm going to agree with OP that I enjoy Steve built like a fucking tank. Which is weird, because I don't usually like guys drawn like that (it's one of the reasons I never got into American comics before CW). Tony I picture more lanky, just because he's got the tech on his side rather than any superpower (pre-Extremis).

[elspethdixon.livejournal.com]

Yes. Add me for another vote for BuiltLikeATank!Steve. And I, too, don't usually like the over-muscled types.

But Steve's hotness transcends usualy preferences -- including gender preferences, if the straight guys who continually drool over how hot he is on message boards are anything to go by.

[elspethdixon.livejournal.com]

I'm going to go with jazzypom here on Tony:
Stark's face should be angular, sharp cheekbones (he has a narrow face with highly defined features).


Yes. This. My mental Tony is kind of a combo of Old Skool Don Heck/Gene Colan/Bob Layton + early volume 3 art + New School Patrick Zircher art + a little Marvel Adventures. And a sprinkling of Granov & Maleev. Narrow face, very defined cheekbones, straight, thin nose, very dark, slightly wavy hair, ridiculously long girly eyelashes. And the volume 3/current canon goatee, not the old school porn-stache.

Steve is pretty easy, most of the time. Big, football-linebacker build, blond hair and eyebrows, square jaw with a cleft in it. Your basic 'All-American' handsome. Usually I don't go for the big, muscular, really built types, but Steve is my exception (well, him and Luke Cage). My mental Steve is a little old skool Jack Kirby, a lot of volume 5 Steve Epting, a heavy dose of the way Maleev drew him in The Confession, and some volume 3 seasoning. Ultimates!Steve is actually a pretty good character-design take on him, too, despite the fact that Ult!Steve characterization is pure Jack Walker/US Agent rather than Steve Rogers.

I've also got a list of body language/physical details for them. Steve has a big, goofy grin, rubs the back of his neck when he's embarrassed or flirting, very broad shoulders, solidly built, can occasionally be a klutz when he's not fighting or dancing, etc. Tony rubs his chin/runs his hand through his hair/rests his chin on his hands when he's thinking, etc.