Fantasy Men

BY: Matt Elisofon

Chris Evans as the Human Torch in Fantastic Four (2005) and as Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and 4 sequels

Before he was the beefy blond boy scout that is Captain America, a young, chiseled Chris Evans set flame to himself, his clothes, and our hearts as the Human Torch, the Fantastic Four’s favorite bad boy. Would it be too corny to call the Torch role his warm-up?

 

Chris Hemsworth as Thor in Thor (2011) and 3 sequels

It’s easy to forget that Thor isn’t so much a superhero as he is a literal deity in the comics. But thanks to Hemsworth’s perfectly chiseled face, sculpted abs and Vallhala-worthy hair, his godliness is never far from our minds.

 

Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman in the Dark Knight trilogy (2005–12)

Five years after wreaking havoc on American Psycho (2000), Christian Bale took a chainsaw to the campiness that beleaguered the Batman franchise for years and added much needed depth, gravitas, and authentic beefiness—he’d put on 30 pounds of muscle after starving himself for The Machinist.

 

Wesley Snipes as Blade in Blade (1998) and 2 sequels

Nearly two decades before Marvel finally decided to bring a distinctly black hero to its Avengers universe, Snipe’s Blade, with his epic leather, slick shades, and flawless fade, was slicing up demons all by himself.

 

Orlando Bloom as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–03) and latter 2 Hobbit films

Don’t let the thin frame and pretty-boy locks fool you: Legolas can brawl with the best of them. Who’d have thought that bleaching Orlando Bloom white and pointing his ears would make for his most badass character ever?

 

Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen and Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black in Twilight (2008) and 3 sequels

Team Edward or Team Jacob aside, we think it’s safe to say now, years later, that they were both pretty damn hot (and both out of Bella’s league). Whether you fancied the pale and pretty Pattinson or the swarthy and boyish Lautner is simply a matter of taste.

 

David Bowie as Thomas Jerome Newton in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

Fleeing to Earth with the hopes of saving his home planet, Bowie’s Newton gets to work on quenching his thirst for water and the beautifully bookish Mary Lou (Candy Clark). In this cult classic, very little disbelief needs suspending to buy that Bowie, with his flaming hair, white skin and androgynous body, is a sexy creature from another universe.

 

Jeff Bridges as Starman in Starman (1984)

In this offbeat John Carpenter ’80s gem, Jeff Bridges’s Starman is a hunted alien who assumes the form of a dead man—the husband of grieving Jenny (Karen Allen)—and pleads with her to help him return home. Buoyed by Bridges tender, almost innocent performance—both in clothes and out—the film deftly depicts a world in which the most human character isn’t actually human at all.

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator in The Terminator (1984)

Like the painted ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, that carving on Mt. Rushmore, or those triangle things rising from the sands of Egypt, Arnold’s swollen muscles, though seemingly extraneous—the T-800 seems to move and murder just fine once they’re blown off—are awe-inspiring all the same.

 

Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine in X-Men (2000) and 4-plus sequels

Since the turn of the 21st century the X-Men franchise has spoiled us with a myriad of mutants, muscles, sequels and spin-offs. Thankfully, though, one thing has remained constant through the years: the ageless maverick Wolverine (Jackman), who refuses to conform to the ravages of time, societal norms and, most important, the lame idea that you should wear a shirt.