Superheroes

[Fred]

I don't know if this has been posted before, but I ran into it on my thumb drive. The site has illustrations.

http://www.comicvine.com/articles/off-m ... 00-142899/

Do they have super-bladders along with super-powers?
We've seen heroes sleeping and eating. They have have super-human abilities but they are still human. Characters are portrayed in different lights and we often get to see moments in their private lives. If we've learned anything from characters like Batman, it's that you have to be prepared before going into a battle. For the Dark Knight, he makes sure he knows everything about his opponents while also maintaining that his body and gadgets are fit for the task.

I'm sure this question has been raised before and I'll admit, I was a little hesitant about bringing it up but when do superheroes go to the bathroom? Prepping for a superhero battle might be sort of like getting ready to play in a sports game. I remember before football games in high school, you made sure you went to bathroom before hitting the field because there really wouldn't be a convenient time during the game. Do heroes make sure they visit the little boys' room before facing their opponents?

The only problem with this reasoning is heroes might not have the opportunity to go to the bathroom before fighting their enemies. Often, the battles can happen at a moments notice. These battles can lead to crazy chases or missions. Think about when the heroes were involved in their battles during Secret Invasion or Blackest Night. It's not like a hero can simply excuse themselves in the middle of a mission to answer the call of nature.

It's interesting that out of all the characters in comics, it's been Wolverine that has been shown going to the bathroom on several occasions. Shouldn't his healing factor somehow prevent him having to go to the bathroom so much? In New X-Men #142, he couldn't even drink a bottle of whiskey without having to visit the VIP urinals at the Hellfire Club.

What about other characters? Is it part of their superpowers to have optimal control over their bladder? I always said this was one of Jack Bauer's (from 24) superpowers. He would go 24 hours straight without having to relieve himself. If you're a speedster like Flash, obviously you could dash off the the bathroom in the middle of a fight. Other characters will just have to hope they can hold it until the fight is won.

But there is no predicting when you have to go to the bathroom. Sometimes it can just sneak up on you. After all, even Batman, the man who is always prepared, peed his pants.


[Brian]

I guess having to pee is the ultimate weakness and doesn't really suit the script writers' agenda when they're writing for a character who's supposed to be invincible.

But that article does mention an interesting exception involving Batman!

The spoof film "Superhero Movie" has the only scene that I already knew about with the superhero (played by Drake Bell, 21 years old at time of filming) having desperate-to-pee issues and actually wetting himself in his lycra hero suit.

[googlism2008]

Much of superhero pee issues appears to be difficulties with the one-piece suit, either in fictional or real life. The number of actors of superhero movies complaining of such difficulties is making this almost non-news.

There are also many fan fiction and other forms of fan art that relate to superhero peeing. I suppose a good number can be found on sites such as Archive Of Our Own. Of course, some deal with clothing difficulties. There's even this Spiderman fan-produced video:



Another aspect I imagine is that the typical superhero has a supersized bladder. Time is essential when answering the call of duty, and emptying a full supersized bladder might take forever, so they hold it in...

[Brian]

Oh yes, that's right, it's the one-piece suit that's such a problem, isn't it?

Nice video link.

That reminds me of this short article about Andrew Garfield who talks about exactly that problem when he was playing Spiderman:

http://www.bbc.com/news/av/entertainmen ... my-bladder

[neodreamwaters]

That reminds me of the time Tom Holland (a different Spider-Man) almost peed himself in the spidey suit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbmDU-IQcL8

[Brian]

That reminds me of the time Tom Holland (a different Spider-Man) almost peed himself in the spidey suit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbmDU-IQcL8

Thanks, I love it! He describes it well. I can imagine him having to hassle the stagehands to hurry up with helping him out of his suit (and probably not being able to stand still while they did so!). And saying that when you play Spiderman you have to plan 45 minutes in advance if you're going to need to go to the bathroom ... well, I guess that's an issue for young males like him (around 20 when he was cast for the role according to Wikipedia): those of us who are significantly older than that are used to planning for such time scales, but I guess Tom Holland had always been used to just being able to go whenever he felt the urge. Almost wetting himself in the Spiderman suit must have taught him a bit about planning his fluid intake and pee breaks in advance, like we all had to learn when we were younger.

[googlism2008]

That reminds me of the time Tom Holland (a different Spider-Man) almost peed himself in the spidey suit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbmDU-IQcL8

There's even a fanfic based on this:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/11780361