Top-Heavy Guy: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

A type of caricature style of drawing the human male figure, as having really huge torso and arms, but legs that are too small to support the upper body, either by being too skinny and/or too short. The effect is usually a triangle with legs (heck, some drawing books actually say to draw the male torso as a triangle). The form of this can range from a moderately large torso and legs that are just a bit too skinny (usually when the rest of the cast is drawn with realistic proportions), to legs that are short and stubby, and the torso is freakishly huge to keep the guy still at normal height (usually when the rest of the cast has cartoonish figures). And even then, there can be other variations.

 

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* ''[[Soul Eater]]'' has Mosquito, while normally a puny old guy, has the ability to bulk himself up to fight. However, his legs do not increase in size, leaving them to dangle while he supports himself by his arms. This is [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded.]]

 

* Strong Guy from [[Marvel Comics]] has a massive torso but regular legs. It isn't stylistic, his body was deformed by his powers overloading.

* [[The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|Mr. Hyde]] in ''[[League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]'' is muscled all around, but his torso is still too large for his legs.

* ''[[Tom Strong]]'' acquired this physique in adulthood, having been much leaner as a boy. It's possible that this is a side-effect of the high-gravity environment in which he was raised and the emphasis on the miracle food goloka in his diet. Several characters compare him to an upside-down triangle ("You wonderful, triangular man!") -- which, incidentally, is also his [[Chest Emblem]].

 

* Rattigan from ''[[The Great Mouse Detective]]'' has this build. Being a...um...big mouse {{spoiler|RAT!!!}} he has very broad shoulders, a wide chest, and overall is extremely muscular in the upper body. However, he has a teeny tiny waist and very short legs, easily fitting into a triangle shape. His head is also quite small compared to his shoulder width, despite his genius IQ.

* In the animated ''[[Hellboy]]'' movies, Hellboy is drawn with a huge upper body but mere human-sized legs.

* Chanticleer the rooster from ''[[Rock-a-Doodle]]''.

* In ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'', Starscream's body shape can be described as [http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/d/d6/RevengeOfTheFallenStarscream.jpg an "inverted triangle".]

 

== Literature ==

* Played straight (huge torso and stubby legs) and inverted (incredibly skinny torso and massive legs) in the beach scene in ''[[Where's Waldo]]''.

 

* ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'' has the Heavy, which [http://wiki.teamfortress.com/w/images/3/38/Vanguard_Party.png an achievement image] [[Lampshade Hanging|points this out.]]

* Ganon in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker|The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker]]'' has his legs obscured most of the time because he's wearing a kimono, but the waist is low enough to make it clear his legs are small.

* Groose

* The Tank from ''[[Left 4 Dead]]'' has a massive upper body, supported by fairly normal-sized legs. It actually walks like a gorilla, using its massive arms to help support itself.

** In the sequel its mass has increased to the point where its lower jaw has either been forced off, or crushed, by massive pectoral muscles.

* Burrito Bison, from the game with the same name.

 

 

== Western Animation ==

* From ''[[The Incredibles]]'', Mr. Incredible has puny legs, whether his torso is flabby or muscular.

* Coach McGurk has the smallest legs and the largest torso of anyone on ''[[Home Movies]]''.

* [[Johnny Bravo]], [[media:JohnnyBravo3.gif|as can be seen here]].

* Joe Swanson from ''[[Family Guy]]''. Even when he got the use of his legs back, his legs were small.

* Hego, Shego's [[Super Strength|super-strong]] brother from ''[[Kim Possible]]''. The cartoon style makes you wonder how he stands up.

** Steve Barkin, Brick Flagg, Pain King and Steel Toe, Dementor's minions (Dementor himself has short legs, but is more boxy), and even Drakken to a lesser extent (almost normal-proportioned, but still with shorter-than-average legs, although this is best seen when he's not in his usual lab coat; re: "Dimension Twist" and "Rappin' Drakken"). In fact, any male character who's not rail-thin (like Ron) is almost guaranteed to have short legs.

* Vlad of the ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' series, most noticeable in his ghost form less so as a human. Dash and Kwan as well.

** Skulker is a more blatant form.

* Kronk from ''[[The Emperor's New Groove|The Emperors New Groove]]'' has legs that are long, but are only slightly larger than broom handles.

* Standard in [[Batman Beyond]]. Batman/Terry himself is an example (even when he's not wearing the suit), but so are Bruce, most of the bad guys, even Superman when he guest stars.

 

== [[Real Life]] ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Graphical Tropes]]

[[Category:Personal Appearance Tropes]]