Is Ronnie Coleman the Real-Life Blueprint for One Punch Man’s Powerhouse?

Superalloy Darkshine shows up in One Punch Man and your brain immediately goes: that looks like Ronnie Coleman with extra baby oil and plot armor. You are not alone. With Season 3 rolling out new art, that comparison is back on the timeline. So here is what is actually confirmed, what is fan connect-the-dots, and where the show is taking the character now.

Who Darkshine is in Season 3 (and why he looks the way he does)

Darkshine is an S-Class enforcer in the Monster Association arc. Think human tank for the Hero Association: huge, glossy, just absurdly muscular.

For the numbers folks: the fandom wiki lists him at 235 cm tall (about 7'8.5") and 250 kg (roughly 551 lbs). The shine is not his natural skin tone; it is heavy tanning oil, straight out of competitive bodybuilding.

His manga backstory backs that up. He starts as a skinny, pale Japanese guy and basically body-builds himself into a gleaming wall via brutal training, tanning, and oiling. It is an intentional riff on bodybuilding culture.

The Ronnie Coleman of it all

The talk tracks are obvious: bald, enormous, stage-ready gloss, a physique that laughs at physics, and the general 'LIGHT WEIGHT, BABY' energy. Fans have been drawing that line for years.

Then Ronnie himself poured some gasoline on it. In June 2021, the eight-time Mr. Olympia posted a side-by-side of him and Darkshine on Instagram and wrote:

"I never knew I had an anime character out there that looked so much like myself. Tag @onepunchman_official if you all think Super Alloy Darkshine is my twin... Yeah Buddy!! #onepunchman #RonnieColeman #superalloydarkshine"

That is not confirmation, but it is also not denial. For what it is worth, creator ONE and artist Yusuke Murata have never said Coleman inspired Darkshine. The official line is that Darkshine is a parody of bodybuilding as a whole, not any one person. Still, when real life perfectly fits the bit, you get theories that refuse to die.

Season 3 tweaks Darkshine's face

When the new Season 3 character art dropped, Darkshine had a noticeably adjusted face: the lips are less exaggerated, the nose is more neutral, and the overall features are softer. That is not a random change; it follows years of conversation around his manga look leaning too close to outdated racial caricatures.

The manga has always stated his skin only looks dark because of tanning oil. Anime-only viewers often did not catch that and assumed he was Black, which created confusion and pushback. The new design aims to make the intent clearer on first glance.

For the record, the official account posted his new 'Hero Visual #11' on January 10, 2025, crediting Season 3 character designer Ryosuke Shirakawa for the illustration.

Where his story goes next (manga spoilers)

Heads up, mild spoilers if you have only watched the anime. After Darkshine's rough clash with Garou in the manga, he cracks emotionally. He loses confidence, tells himself he is not cut out for hero work, quits the Hero Association, and signs on with the Neo Heroes as their physical trainer. If Season 3 adapts that faithfully, it is one of the more grounded, human turns in a show that loves to go operatic with its muscles and monster-slaying.

Quick catch-up: the anime and where to watch

• Season 1 (2015) — Studio: Madhouse — 12 episodes — Covers Chapters 1–36 — Streaming: Crunchyroll, Hulu (US)
• Season 2 (2019) — Studio: J.C. Staff — 12 episodes — Covers Chapters 37–85 — Streaming: Crunchyroll, Hulu (US)
• Season 3 (2025) — Studio: J.C. Staff — Episodes TBA (likely 12, same as prior seasons) — Covers Chapters 86–? — Streaming: Crunchyroll, Hulu (US)

And yes, One Punch Man Season 3 is currently available to watch on Hulu.

So is Darkshine basically Ronnie Coleman?

Officially, no. In spirit, the resemblance is uncanny. If Darkshine ever belts out a 'Yeah buddy!' in Season 3, I am calling it canon in the court of public opinion.