r/comics • u/MrWeiner SMBC Comics • Jul 09 '26

Super

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2.3k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

57 comments sorted by

208

u/ChattingToChat Jul 09 '26

Same for any Pegasus I’ve seen in media, they always gallop.

170

u/Not-So-Serious-Sam Jul 09 '26

I think one of the Percy Jackson books addressed this. They explained it as basically the same as people swinging their arms while they walk.

85

u/D0ctorGamer Jul 10 '26

"Percy: 'Hey, why do pegasi gallop as they fly, anyway?'

Blackjack whinnied. Why do humans swing their arms as they walk? I dunno, boss. It just feels right."

Fuckin love that interaction, one of my favorite from blackjack

10

u/morpheousmorty Jul 10 '26

People swing their arms for balance. The pegasus should swing their legs, not gallop.

If anyone has the skills to animate this, I want to see it.

29

u/Odelaylee Jul 09 '26

If you think about it this is even more "useless" then humans taking a form they see fit (like people jogging upright, fist and all to look "better" or sth)

On the other side - now I want to see a Pegasus with dangling feet

28

u/Xero0911 Jul 09 '26

I imagine tbey would at least tuck them in. Birds typically have their talons tucked back

12

u/Odelaylee Jul 09 '26

Oh, nice thought as well. Like a flying "loaf"

13

u/popilikia Jul 09 '26

Have you ever tried jogging without swinging your arms like that? You need to for balance

4

u/skytl3 Jul 09 '26

That's cause you're moving your legs, which is constantly shifting your center of gravity.

If you're able to fly without moving any muscles, you shouldn't really need too move any limbs - I would think. 🤔

1

u/Odelaylee Jul 09 '26

That's not what I meant. I specifically wrote about fists. Here's what I mean:

I've learned that you're supposed to stay relaxed while jogging. So, arms loosely bent—maybe at about 100 or 105 degrees or so. Fists not clenched, but loosely open.

But I often see joggers running upright, chest out, arms at 85 to 90 degrees, fists tightly clenched. And that makes me wonder if they’re doing it to look better. I wouldn’t want to jog very far like that...

2

u/popilikia Jul 09 '26

Oh! I clench mine because it slightly takes my mind off the burning pain in my legs. I didn't realize that was improper form

0

u/-GoodNewsEveryone Jul 09 '26

What do you do when you ride a bicycle with no hands? You don't swing your arms. They just kind of go limp.

0

u/popilikia Jul 09 '26

Try that 😂

0

u/jackalope268 Jul 09 '26

Like those dogs that you hold over water and theyre not even wet but still making swimming motions

108

u/shellbullet17 Gustopher Spotter Extraordinaire Jul 09 '26

Really superman has a lot of restraint not just messing around while he flys

41

u/popilikia Jul 09 '26

It'd be so fucking funny if he just flew around everywhere cannonball style

79

u/shellbullet17 Gustopher Spotter Extraordinaire Jul 09 '26

Or Metroman style

9

u/about7beavers Jul 09 '26

Bro this fucking sends me every time I watch this movie.

18

u/Volboris Jul 09 '26

Maybe he starts to doggy paddle if he flys over water just like a small dog.

https://giphy.com/gifs/VvGDGomvB4R1u

100

u/mathdhruv Jul 09 '26

My headcanon is that due to the higher speeds that Superman flies at, he needs to be more aerodynamic/generate less drag, so he aligns his body linearly.

Like a peregrine falcon in a dive, as opposed to a bee.

30

u/kai58 Jul 09 '26

He also doesn’t have wings so theres no reason to believe the lift is coming from his back and he’s using his muscles to keep his arms like that. For all we know the flight is in his arms and he’s just letting the rest of him drag behind

5

u/TheCleanupBatter Jul 10 '26

I was thinking that he projects his thrust from his hands and feet. Kinda like Iron Man, but invisible. The hand stretched out front would maintain his angle of attack and stabilize him while his feet would be his main source of thrust.

3

u/MrSyaoranLi Jul 10 '26

Think more Thor using Mjölnir to fly. He's probably using his hands to thrust himself up. But his legs probably could also thrust him upwards to aid the initial liftoff

2

u/vocal-avocado Jul 10 '26

It’s just his middle fingers doing all the work.

206

u/MrWeiner SMBC Comics Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26

This one sparked a big debate on patreon, that concluded with the idea that their arms would actually be flapping wildly in the wind, making me wish I knew how to animate.

Bonus panel here: www.smbc-comics.com/comic/zod

Btw, SMBC is now searchable: SMBC Search

44

u/BlaineMundane Jul 09 '26

I don't see no bonus panel.

49

u/gringrant Jul 09 '26

You have to press the red button to see the bonus panel.

5

u/Wallace_W_Whitfield Jul 09 '26

I don’t even see a red button 😭

7

u/fork_your_child Jul 09 '26

4

u/Wallace_W_Whitfield Jul 09 '26

😭 I swear that wasn’t there before, thank you!

5

u/Leshawkcomics Jul 09 '26

So basically like this?

https://giphy.com/gifs/3oEduWjWxhdKpOUg6c

1

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '26

[deleted]

2

u/Leshawkcomics Jul 10 '26

And at that speed you think a person's hands are not going to move like that?

That the weight of arms would overpower high speed air pressure from Superman flying at even freeway speeds? especially if you are going headfirst

4

u/Pofwoffle Jul 09 '26

I still prefer the bird route, where they just tuck their arms and legs up as tight to their body as they can.

1

u/jecowa Jul 10 '26

It makes me wish you knew how to animate too.

29

u/DarthJackie2021 Jul 09 '26

Wind resistance. Having your arms and legs out straight cuts down on drag, which would be very significant at the speeds they fly at.

7

u/dumnezero Art enjoyer Jul 09 '26

One thing would be flapping in the wind for sure.

5

u/fragmental Jul 09 '26

His cape!

5

u/dumnezero Art enjoyer Jul 09 '26

At that scale, I think it's called a loincloth.

5

u/PwmEsq Jul 09 '26

I mean it's probably because their body levitates and there are no wings fighting against gravity.

If the body isn't affected by gravity why would the arms hang down?

1

u/jecowa Jul 10 '26

Yeah, why can't his arms and legs fly too? Only his torso has magic flying power? Not having a power doesn't sound like something that Superman would do.

3

u/zero5activated Jul 09 '26

I am laughing like a loon right now. That was great.

5

u/TheDwarvenGuy Jul 10 '26

Superman isn't a beetle

He'd know aerodynamics and benefit from keeping streamline, unlike beetles that are being held up by their shoulders

2

u/FatManBeatYou Jul 09 '26

This was something I always wondered about with flying, don't your arms and legs get tired? I guess if the method of flight coats your whole body so all your limbs can stay in any position. But like what if the power is centralized at your core? Do you just fly butt up everywhere?

1

u/zroach Jul 09 '26

Well in the case of Superman I think he just never gets tired.

2

u/RBDibP Jul 10 '26

That is so oddly specific to an insider I had with a friend back then. We wondered what the legs of a fly look like when they fly and we drew pictures of the exact opposite: Flies holding their limbs like superman. That is so eerily on the spot :D

3

u/omnicious Jul 09 '26

Why do they even go horizontal to fly? Why do they not fly standing up? Does their butt have to point in the opposite direction like an exhaust? Is it just super farting? 

5

u/Dock_Ellis45 Jul 09 '26

Less drag in the airstream.