Flexing Those Non-Biceps
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Crow: So, so what do you think? Am I buff or what? Am I blue twisted cold rolled steel or what? —Mystery Science Theater 3000, "Space Mutiny"
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An image of a person flexing the biceps, but with the muscular bulge missing. Sometimes this is a comedy act, in which the flexer seems incredibly proud of their (apparently non-existent) muscles, or else hopeful that the muscles will miraculously appear, only to be dismayed. In cartoons, the upper arm may actually droop when the subject flexes, in a U shape, and swing back and forth like a hammock.
Otherwise, it's still a symbol of strength, achievement, and victory, just without the direct connection to muscular strength.
This trend goes back as far as Rosie the Riveter, if not further, and is often found in advertisements aimed at women and children.
The main rule is that the person has to be flexing, and that the biceps brachii is not developed enough to show a bulge. If there is any bulge, then it doesn't count as an example of this trope.
See also Bicep-Polishing Gesture.
Examples of Flexing Those Non-Biceps include:
Advertising
- Political advertisements
- Sarah Palin's advertisement
- Michelle Obama's photo op
- Walgreens loves this trope, for instance here and here, and some elderly people that are unavailable on your average Google image search, and ultimately (and just barely) averted here Ripped off by other advertisers, as seen here
- Beavis and Butthead, as seen here
- Juliette Lewis on the cover of Four on the Floor.
- Sarah Haskins shows off her comedic muscle here in a promotional image that was circulating with her interviews.
Anime and Manga
- In Girls und Panzer Der Film, Nekonya tries desperately to produce a brachii bump just before her Training Montage. (After the training montage, she's literally tossing tank shells to her teammate, so she doesn't need to flex her biceps.)
Comic Books
- Alex Ross did an oddball variant of this with Plastic Man, as seen here.
Film
- Charlie from Mystery Team
- Joe Dirt - Where both Jaime Pressly and Brittany Daniel are more toned than David Spade, but that doesn't stop his titular character from saying stuff like "Watch the guns, baby" or "Say it in the microphone."
- Maruti from The Return of Hanuman does this when he is signing up to a school.
Live-Action TV
- In one host segment in Mystery Science Theater 3000 after the movie Space Mutiny, Crow is inspired to start working out by the movie's handsome bodybuilding hero, but has a barely noticeable and kind of pathetic bicep bump by the end of his set. Then comes Servo, who has become incredibly large and muscular after one squat thrust.
- In the pilot episode of Game of Thrones ten year-old Bran does this when the king asks him to "show us your muscles".
Professional Wrestling
- Steven Regal used to do a routine where he'd flex, nothing would happen, and then he'd use his finger to push a "bicep" up. The funny part being that Regal was only non-muscular as compared to the other wrestlers, and that he was legitimately tougher than almost all of them.
Video Games
- Pictured above is a scene from Team Fortress 2's Meet the Scout, where the Scout "flexes" his arms and acts very proud of his muscles even though there's literally no bulge whatsoever. He does this in attempts to attract women in several supplementary comics as well. It... never works, unfortunately for him.
- Punch-Out!!'s Glass Joe would do this if he won, but he never wins. Unless you're using the Power Glove.
- Jak and Daxter The Precursor Legacy will sometimes pull this one with Daxter when the player acquires a Power Cell. He also tries to impress Keira with it, but of course to little effect.
Western Animation
- Bugs Bunny would get the "hammock" effect described above every single time.
- Not every time. On some occasions he would get a comically-small bulge.
- Popeye cartoons (before the point Once Per Episode where he eats his spinach).
- SpongeBob SquarePants. In the episode "MuscleBob BuffPants", he shows off his "muscles" to Sandy after working out with stuffed toys as weights; she then shames him by flashing her own massive guns. Hilarity Ensues when he buys inflatable arms to look buff.
- Goofy in the Classic Disney Short Goofy Gymnastics. At one point the only way he can get a bulge on his arm is to transfer it from a Cranial Eruption.
- Harold from Total Drama Island starts flexing his scrawny arms while talking to his crush LeShawna; fortunately for him, she finds it more amusing than pathetic.
- Sokka from Avatar: The Last Airbender can't help but flex his "muscles" every time he sees his reflection. Even Suki, who knew him for literally a day notices it, and on their second encounter teasingly asks if he's been working out lately to provoke this reaction. Of course, he falls for it.
- The Flintstones used the drooping version again - Fred would flex his bicep and declare it to be "like a potato!", then Barney would attempt to do the same and copy the catchphrase, it would droop and Fred would comment "Mashed potato, maybe..."
- Spike in My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic even kisses his nonbiceps. Silence ensues, so he leaves in disgust.
- A nerdy pony also does this when Rarity flatters him.
- Pleakley tries to do this in Lilo and Stitch The Animated Series, however his arms (or tentrils) are literally Rubber Hose Limbs