TOP 10: Beefcake Pin-Ups from the Marvel Swimsuit Issues
From left to right: the covers of the Marvel Swimsuit Specials (AKA Marvel Illustrated) from 1991 to 1995, featuring the talents of Brian Stelfreeze, Marc Silvestri, Joe Jusko, and Greg & Tim Hildebrandt.
In the early 1990s, Marvel Comics took a page from the wildly popular (at the time) Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Specials by putting out its own annual swimsuit issues, featuring pin-ups of some of its top characters wearing suggestive beach wear, drawn or painted by some of the comic industry’s top artists. These were a fun and frothy summer diverson, and provided valuable spank-bank material for horny comic readers years before the internet would come into wide use.
The Marvel Swimsuit Special is returning in July 2025, and we’re excited to revisit this silly, sexy spinoff. To celebrate its impending release, as well as Gay Pride Month, we went back and looked through all of the illustrations in the original five specials from the 1990s, and picked out our favorite pin-ups that focused on the men of Marvel. While the majority of the artwork for these specials focused on the female characters — which made good business sense, given that the demographics for comic readers at that time skewed predominantly straight, male, and sexually frustrated — Marvel was surprisingly progressive by including some genuinely hot pin-ups objectifying their male superheroes. We most definitely took notice.
Below find our picks on the 10 hottest male drawings/paintings from the 1990s Marvel Swimsuit Specials. If you’re looking for a ranking of the women featured in the Marvel Swimsuit Specials, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
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Honorable Mention: Avengers Tug-of-War (Paul Ryan, 1991)
The original Marvel Swimsuit Specials often had some loose narrative explanation for why the characters would be frolicking together in an exotic locale. The 1991 edition had them competing in summer games in the Savage Land. Paul Ryan, then the artist on Avengers West Coast, gave us this double-page spread that saw the East Coast Avengers squad (Thor, Hercules, She-Hulk, Captain America, cheered on by Sersi and Quasar) in a friendly tug-of-war against the West Coast Avengers (Hawkeye, Mockingbird, USAgent, Wonder Man, Scarlet Witch, with Wasp cheering). It’s adorable, and I will admit that Cap, Hawk, and Agent wearing their cowls with nothing but swim trunks may have unlocked something in me.
Honorable Mention: The Punisher (Cindy Martin, 1993)
The swimsuit specials also veered into parody territory — they included some cheeky fake advertisements — and that brings us to the usually grim and gritty Frank Castle posing his impressive physique in a teeny thong with a comically large skull adornment over his junk. Bonus points for the monsters fighting to buy tooth brushes — for the skull teeth presumably — in the background.
10. Thunderstrike (Gary Frank, 1994)
One of the fun parts of looking back at the old 90s Swimsuit Specials is seeing which characters were being pushed by Marvel at the time — Nomad, the New Warriors, Silver Sable, etc. Thunderstrike was featured in nearly every Swimsuit Special. He was a more modern offshot of Thor who has been almost entirely forgotten, but he’s a stunner and he could get it. (Note: most of the Thor/Thunderstrike illos had them looking like human jerky, but this one is…succulent.)
9. Wonder Man (John Romita Jr., 1991)
The first Swimsuit Issue (officially titled Marvel Illustrated, as a nod to Sports Illustrated) was light on the beefcake, but it did give us this great pin-up by JRJR. Simon looks hot, and that Speedo is genuinely great.
8. Bishop (David Williams, 1995)
Bishop was featured in a few swimsuit issues, which is notable considering how overwhelmingly white Marvel characters were at the time. He was often weirdly covered up in most of them, but David Williams gave us the skin and possibly a nod to the hanky code. Ambitious bottoms should take note of Lucas’ powerful fist...
7. Quasar (Greg Capullo, 1992)
Wendell Vaughan, the cosmic Avenger known as Quasar, has been largely paid dust by Marvel in recent decades. That is weird. He’s a great character with a cool power set and a great costume. He is also a sexy man, especially when drawn by his series artist at the time, future comic superstar Greg Capullo. I wonder if Quasar’s Cosmic Awareness can alert him to my impure thoughts…
6. Luke Cage (James Fry, 1995)
There are two things wrong with this pin-up: Luke Cage (then just going by “Cage”) is not wearing a swimsuit in a supposed swimsuit issue, and we don’t see his face. But everything else is very, very right. In the words of Salt-N-Pepa from around that time, Whattaman.
5. Scarlet Spider (Christopher Hawkes, 1995)
For the uninitiated, Scarlet Spider was the name given to the clone of Peter Parker AKA Spider-Man. Scarlet Spider/Ben Reilly not only took over the Spider-Man mantle for parts of the 1990s, but was also briefly canonically revealed to be the real Peter Parker for a while. The 90s were wild. Also wild: the abs on this hot AF painting. Too bad about the baggy trunks, but I guess they just leave more to the imagination.
4. Colossus (Brian Stelfreeze, 1994)
Colossus was featured in almost every Swimsuit Special, and honestly those images are all pretty hot. But this one is exceptionally sexy. Not sure what is the best part: the sensual pose, those massive arms, or that hint of bulge via a boxerbrief underneath a casually unbuttoned pair of jean shorts, barely staying on. Like Piotr on a hot summer day, this image is sizzling.
4. Captain America (Lou Harrison, 1994)
Captain America was also a fixture of the Marvel swimsuit specials, and most of his pin-ups tended to veer safe and respectful. Not this one, which gives us a nice view of America’s Ass (TM). Steve Rogers should be built like a brick shithouse, and that’s exactly what we get here.
3. Doctor Strange (P. Craig Russell, 1995)
An unconventional choice for third place, this is a nod to modern-day appreciation of daddies. Doc is not ripped like many of the other guys on this list, but that come-hither stare is giving, “My pet dragon and I saw you from across the bar, and we like your vibe.” When Doctor Strange goes on vacation, you know he is DTF.
2. Northstar & Hector (Jan Duursema, 1995)
While arguably not the sexiest image in this list — and it certainly does not feature the most creative swimwear — this is a remarkably bold inclusion. Alpha Flight’s Northstar and Hector of The Pantheon (supporting characters from the Hulk’s book in the 1990s) were canonically out homosexuals. That was unheard of in comics in the early 1990s. To have the two of them ripped to the tits and “enjoying each others’ company,” even though they aren’t touching —- that was powerful in the 1990s. (And for the record, Castro Clone Hector could absolutely get it.)
Wolverine (Steve Lightle, 1994)
As one of Marvel’s most-popular characters, it’s no surprise that Wolverine was featured in every 1990s Marvel Swimsuit Special. In fact, he was sometimes featured in multiple pin-ups per edition. While some of the other pin-ups featuring Logan are solid — and some are certainly more hirsute than this one — there was something “off” about several of them. This piece by Steve Lightle gives us one of the most handsome, come-hither Wolverines I have ever seen, and that fully loaded pair of swimtrunks is absolutely perfect. Look at that chest! Mmf!
What are some of your favorite Marvel Illustrated pin-ups? Drop them in the comments.
