Pumping Iron-On-Tees: 5 Ah-nold Shirts

In the 80s, no actor cut a bigger profile (both figuratively and literally) than Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was the undisputed king of the action-adventure genre, turning out a rapid-fire succession of memorable and rock-solid flicks such as Conan the Barbarian (1982), The Terminator (1984), Commando (1985), and Raw Deal (1986) (the list goes on and on and on…). Of course, everything that goes up must come down (occasionally with a resounding thud), and Arnold was, sadly, no exception. After hitting the high water mark of his oeuvre with 1992’s T2 (which holds up remarkably well to this day), he sputtered through a series of misplaced roles (Eraser anyone?), trying to reinvent himself for a new generation of movie-goers or alternately, attempting to deny the creeping steadfastness of old age. (That said, brief flashes of his former awe-inspiring self did filter through to the surface on occasion, most notably in T3: Rise of the Machines, which, however maligned critically, I thought was a worthy addition to the franchise).

In any case, to honor his outsized celluloid legacy, we here at FIC have added a choice Terminator-themed tee to our line-up. Behold, in all its glory, the .45 Longslide With Laser Sighting top:

(Particularly attentive readers might recall that this design made a cameo in this column before…)

Along these lines then, here are 5 shirts that celebrate the premier action-adventure movie star of our time. (On an aside, click on the pics to link through!)

5. From his days as the world’s preeminent bodybuilder…

4. This is a clever little tee that riffs on one of Arnie’s ~~signature~~ hamfisted one-liners (and his stifled, wooden delivery):

From the source material:

3. And you will know us by the trail of our dead…

Eye candy:

2. These so-called Experimental Jet Set designs are quite popular with the kids (and t-shirt companies) these days, but I think this one is a creative addition to the burgeoning genre.

Peep it:

1. We may yet get around to repro’ing this shirt, which Arnie wore triumphantly at the end of Pumping Iron. Quite apropos for this list, I must say…