I just love how wizards in fiction went from being stereotypically scrawny nerds to hitting the gym.

I never really liked the idea of a character being incompatible with physical fitness on account of using magic. I really like how many mages in more modern works often buck the Squishy Wizard trend, at least visually. I especially appreciate this in games, since I like playing mages, and like to play muscular characters.

It's something I noticed a little over a decade ago (e.g. from games like League of Legends, where many mages have very noticeable muscle, as well as other games which let you customize the appearance of a character independently of their abilities.) Exactly when did the transition start to happen, or was the scrawny bookworm wizard not really as common as I thought it was?

Making them look stronger makes them look appealing

Though more accurately buff wizards are called battle mages

I think the difference is that wizards used to be stand-ins for academics and computer scientists, while they are these days becoming more obviously combat-oriented. That's why they are often more like Elemental Benders in Avatar, or some other magical martial-artists.

That's the most prominent example that I wanted to recall but couldn't, thank you.

And yeah, that's a fair point about magic becoming more combat-oriented over time. Something I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't brought it up.

In line with this, Geek Physiques is less common and conventionally attractive smarties are more common.

Another example would be the Jedi, who often show physical straining when using their Force-powers. Even though magic has long been used for combat in fiction and in games, it is usually portrayed as looking very easy. Magic usually looks like someone casually and lightly moving their fingers, or a thin stick, which demands no actual physical prowess and is the reason why the Squishy Wizard has long existed as an archetype.

Edited by Mara999 on Feb 17th 2021 at 10:25:54 PM

Good point - on that note, Psychic Nosebleed and similar for less physical abilities seems to be a (relatively) more recent, as opposed to an older, trope, at least in its propagation.

Edited by AGuy on Feb 17th 2021 at 11:32:00 AM