Unlike other boys his age, six-year-old Charles Winnett isn't interested in playing with the usual superheroes. He prefers Tree Fu Tom, the boy who transforms into a tiny magical superhero and and travels to an enchanted kingdom in his backyard.
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Which suits Charles's mum just fine. "The traditional superheroes have a bit of a limited view of what masculinity should be – the stereotypical He-Man with big muscles," Liz Van Dort says.
"Tree Fu Tom is a good example of a different type of superhero, the thinking superhero. It's not about brawn, it's more cerebral."
But new research shows most kids today prefer to play with the bulked-up versions of their superheroes, suggesting muscly body image ideals are being inculcated early in life.
Just as Barbie's unrealistic figure has long been blamed for warping young girls' body ideals, there is growing concern that supercharged action hero figurines are having the same effect on young boys.
Superhero figurines have become significantly more muscular in the past 25 years, with their necks, chests, arms, thighs and calves up to 70 per cent bigger than the originals.
A joint study by Oklahoma State University and University of Sydney has found primary school children "overwhelmingly" prefer the more muscly versions of superhero figurines.
When presented with new and old versions of Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Incredible Hulk and GI Joe, 86 per cent of children said they liked the present-day versions better.
Asked why they preferred the modern figurines, children tended to give a physical reason for their choice, such as the characters were more muscly. Children who said they preferred the old figurines tended to give a reason other than because of the way they looked.
"The predominant reason why boys and girls preferred the contemporary figures related to their superior physique," the study authors said.
University of Sydney researcher Scott Griffiths said toy manufacturers were making action figures that reflected the way superheroes were depicted on screen.
"It's not toy manufacturers foisting that body image on us, it's that young kids like it and want it because they've internalised that ideal, that it's a good thing to have a body like that," he said.
"Once Captain America has muscles his whole world changes for the better . . . They see that people who have big muscles are treated with more respect and have a higher value."
Girls as well as boys preferred the bigger, more muscly versions of the superheroes. "This has implications for young boys who may already believe that greater muscularity will enhance one's romantic appeal," the study authors said.
Dr Griffiths said children who internalised these body ideals were more susceptible to developing body image issues as they grew older. They may have lower self-confidence, less self-esteem and be more unhappy.
Dr Griffiths said parents should have frank conversations with their children about body image. "Ask them what they think about muscles, do most people look like that," he advised. "Make sure they are exposed to stuff that is not venerating body types as well.
"If you get the sense your kids are putting too much value on their appearance, you need to encourage them to compete in other things like sport. Things your body can do as opposed to the way your body looks."
