Every now and again, we come across a story so ridiculous that we just have to share it with you. If you're a comic book fan, you've no doubt heard of artist Mike Deodato Jr. as he's lent his talents to a huge number of titles, including Amazing Spider-Man, Dark Avengers, and Old Man Logan.
Namor the Submariner is also a character he's crossed paths with on multiple occasions, including in the pages of Jonathan Hickman's New Avengers.
However, Deodato Jr. shocked everyone recently when he took to Instagram to criticise the physique of Tenoch Huerta's Namor. The actor will play the anti-hero in this November's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and what little we've seen of the character has been widely praised (even with a costume that's been redesigned for live-action).
Sharing a photo of Huerta from behind along with a nude photo of himself, the artist said "Pencil lifting beats swimming anytime." He then compared himself to the actor before adding, "You can tell somebody screwed things up when a character from a movie looks in worst shape than the 60 years old artist who drew him."
While Deodato Jr. is entitled to his opinion, this sort of body shaming feels wholly unnecessary and that selfie...it's a little creepy, if we're being honest.
The post received an almost unanimously negative response from fans and the artist has since deleted the photo. From what we've seen, Huerta actually got into great shape to play Namor and looks suitably formidable as the Black Panther sequel's antagonist.
Not every actor needs to look as jacked as Chris Hemsworth in Thor: Love and Thunder, for example. Deodato Jr. has yet to issue any further comment since taking the photo down.
Check out a screenshot below:
In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba), fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death.
As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. Introducing Tenoch Huerta as Namor, king of a hidden undersea nation, the film also stars Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena and Alex Livanalli.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrives in theaters on November 11, later this year.