Henry Cavill IS Superman: - Part 8

[Bruce Malone]

I still think reeve's was the most "massive" of the actors to play superman mainly due to his height. Cavill may look bigger but reeve's at his peak and being 3-4 inches taller most likely outweighed cavill by some amount.

As for a guy like welling he also seems more naturally massive. In the sense of someone who is just generally bigger without the hours of personal training in a 6 months period.

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

Everyone's entitled to one troll post, right? Because I just wanna point out in roughly the same amount of time Bale went from The Machinist to much bigger than what he was in Batman Begins and had to go on a diet because he was too big for the batsuit, in the same time Cavill went from Cold Light of Day to Man of Steel.


:P

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

I still think reeve's was the most "massive" of the actors to play superman mainly due to his height. Cavill may look bigger but reeve's at his peak and being 3-4 inches taller most likely outweighed cavill by some amount.

As for a guy like welling he also seems more naturally massive. In the sense of someone who is just generally bigger without the hours of personal training in a 6 months period.

When you factor in height, Welling would most likely come out on top of the most massive list here; he's naturally stocky as well as being somewhere around 6'4. Reeve, on the other hand, while just as tall, had a rather slim build. I know he was muscled to an extent, but certainly not on par with with the likes of Cavill or Thor's Hemsworth.

Bottom line: Cavill's physique bears the closest resemblance to Superman in the comics. In comparison to Welling, his muscles are much better defined giving him that ripped look. And at 6'1, he's only a couple of inches shy of the ideal Superman height. He looks plenty tall to me; and they will likely make him appear even taller onscreen. What's important I think is that, in Cavill, we finally have a Superman with mass + definition -- definition being the keyword. Like SuperMike335 says, big guys are a dime a dozen.

 

[Dark Knight]

The reason is that people on the boards love to use "straw man" arguments.

It’s a tactic of politicians and con men. Essentially stuffing an argument in the others persons mouth, one they did not actually say, and is easy to knock down.

In the example above JAK did not say Bale was "fat", he meant Bale had a higher bodyfat% in BB, than does Cavill in MOS.

He never said Bale has a high % of bodyfat, it simply looks 2-3% more than Cavill has.

By doing the whole "I don’t know why anyone would call him fat" that is attacking a point that JAK never actually made.

Straw man is a very common argument fallacy on the boards.

http://www.fallacyfiles.org/strawman.html

The other really common one is ad-hominem which is a personal attack to discredit the speaker. "you only think that because you are a newb", OR "people who like Byrne’s Superman are not real Superman fans".

Bale was the puffy and had a high amount of body fat leading up to the filming of BB yes. He lost that excess mass/fat and toned within a span of weeks for the first month of shooting BB.

People need to be specific when it comes to using the words fat, mass, or body fat IMO.

There are plenty of posters here on the Hype that throw around the word "fat" far too often, in the wrong context.

 

[elgaz]

When you factor in height, Welling would most likely come out on top of the most massive list here; he's naturally stocky as well as being somewhere around 6'4. Reeve, on the other hand, while just as tall, had a rather slim build. I know he was muscled to an extent, but certainly not on par with with the likes of Cavill or Thor's Hemsworth.

Bottom line: Cavill's physique bears the closest resemblance to Superman in the comics. In comparison to Welling, his muscles are much better defined giving him that ripped look. And at 6'1, he's only a couple of inches shy of the ideal Superman height. He looks plenty tall to me; and they will likely make him appear even taller onscreen. What's important I think is that, in Cavill, we finally have a Superman with mass + definition -- definition being the keyword. Like SuperMike335 says, big guys are a dime a dozen.

Welling was actually just a shade under 6"3, but nonetheless, he's a naturally big boned guy. And to this day, no matter what criticisms are aimed at Smallville, his acting, or his slightly smaller physique in later seasons, I still maintain that Welling (at his prime) had the most potential for the perfect Superman build. Big arms, big shoulders, broad chest, and a 'farmboy' build as opposed to looking like someone who's worked out in a gymn for 6 months straight.

Considering Welling was acting and producing Smallville for three quarters of every day - and thus had very little gymn time - his natural build was very impressive. The man would have been a complete monster if they put him through the same training regime that Cavill has undergone recently.

 

[SuperMike335!!]

Before judging which Superman was the best shape/best physique we should wait until the post edited, which means camera distance + angle + lighting + shadows are all done.

We cannot compare candid photos of one actor with post edited footage of another.

As far as stats go, they are irrelevant so long as the guy looks tall enough and muscular enough in the film. I don't care what camera tricks and editing is used so long as the end result looks right in the movie.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

Welling was actually just a shade under 6"3, but nonetheless, he's a naturally big boned guy. And to this day, no matter what criticisms are aimed at Smallville, his acting, or his slightly smaller physique in later seasons, I still maintain that Welling (at his prime) had the most potential for the perfect Superman build. Big arms, big shoulders, broad chest, and a 'farmboy' build as opposed to looking like someone who's worked out in a gymn for 6 months straight.

Considering Welling was acting and producing Smallville for three quarters of every day - and thus had very little gymn time - his natural build was very impressive. The man would have been a complete monster if they put him through the same training regime that Cavill has undergone recently.

I don't know the guy (Welling) personally and have never measured his height, so if most sources put him at 6'4, I'll take their word for it. And even if he's an inch shorter, that's not a huge difference. He's up there with Reeve in terms of height I think -- or close enough.

And yeah, Welling definitely had/has a great physique for Superman -- no question. Cavill, on the other hand, currently has a more sculpted, defined look, which gives the impression that he stepped right out of the comics. Now, if Welling underwent the "same training regime" that Cavill did recently, I agree that his physique would likely be superior to Cavill's for the reasons you mention above. That hasn't happened though, so it's not really relevant to the discussion. There could actually be an entirely different thread created specifically for the purpose of focusing on actors with the best potential for physically embodying Superman. I think most of us in this particular thread, however, are keeping things centered on actuality though.

On a side note, although Welling had/has a great build for Superman, his facial features, in my opinion, don't quite resemble that of the character. When I think of the ideal Superman actor, I take into account several factors -- not just physique. You want someone who has the right balance.

 

[Mako]

I'd say Welling is more 6'1-6'2 looking at a pic with him and Jared Padalecki who's 6'4.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

I'd say Welling is more 6'1-6'2 looking at a pic with him and Jared Padalecki who's 6'4.

Just did a google search of the two in the same photo. You're right. Welling looks 6'2-ish. Interesting.

 

[SuperMike335!!]

Just did a google search of the two in the same photo. You're right. Welling looks 6'2-ish. Interesting.

Either way, he is tall enough for the TV show, and he passed for being 6'3" or 6'4" on the show.

He was almost always the tallest guy in any scene.

Regadless, Cavill certainly has the physical requirements to look right on screen too.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

Either way, he is tall enough for the TV show, and he passed for being 6'3" or 6'4" on the show.

He was almost always the tallest guy in any scene.

Regadless, Cavill certainly has the physical requirements to look right on screen too.

Agreed. Welling always looked very tall and imposing on Smallville. And he certainly did pass for being around 6'3 or 6'4 even though he's probably 6'2-ish in actuality. Good to know that Cavill, at 6'1, is actually closer in height to him.

 

[MydnightPhoenix]

Wasn't Dean Cain the most muscular although the shortest Superman?
I have no idea what made Christopher so Supermanlike; maybe it was his height and maybe he had some broad shoulders, IDK.
As for Tom, he hit a plateau a few years before the finale.

 

[Rockstar]

On a side note, although Welling had/has a great build for Superman, his facial features, in my opinion, don't quite resemble that of the character. When I think of the ideal Superman actor, I take into account several factors -- not just physique. You want someone who has the right balance.

Yup.

It was probably because he was cast to play teenage Clark and not Superman. His height was listed as 6'2 onscreen in Absolute Justice.

Cavill is closer to 6'0 onscreen. It's noticeable in Whatever Works

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws0OLanSAlI&feature=player_detailpage#t=103s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F16uc_dbOEg


They aren't giving him lifts in MoS it seems but that's fine. His version of Superman is a new look anyway

Routh had to wear lifts to get to 6'4 in SR, but it made the boots look weird.

 

[Micromind]

I would say that Henry Cavill is 6' 1" (or very close.)

Judging from this photo with Luke Evans, his co star in Immortals who is listed as 6' 0" everywhere on the net, Cavill looks to be at least one inch taller than him.

 

[Bruce Malone]

^^^

They're pretty close maybe a slight edge to cavill

 

[Bruce Malone]

Also I still stick to my guns that reeves was the most massive actor to play superman

Spoiler

Cavil is definitely the most defined. But at his peak reeves at 6'4" was probably a good 230+ lbs

 

[Micromind]

Routh looked big in Dylan Dog movie, maybe he looks more suited for the role now than he did during SR.

 

[SuperMike335!!]

Cavill is closer to 6'0 onscreen. It's noticeable in Whatever Works

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws0OLanSAlI&feature=player_detailpage#t=103s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F16uc_dbOEg

They aren't giving him lifts in MoS it seems but that's fine. His version of Superman is a new look anyway

Routh had to wear lifts to get to 6'4 in SR, but it made the boots look weird.

Not all lifts make boots look weird. Poorly made ones do. If made right they are not noticed.

Besides its easy enough to make a guy who is 6'1" look a few inches taller simply by having him a few inches closer to the camera in any shots where another tall man is in the frame.

It might seem silly that the filming would take into acount such small detail as him looking a few inches taller, but in a movie of this scale everything, to the smallest detail is meticulously planned.


"Whatever Works" is not the kind of movie to compare to MOS in a visual way, they are not the same kind of movie, and the stature and build of the lead is irrelevant to how he comes off on screen.


I'll only complian about Cavills height if he "looks" too short in the movie like Dean Cain did often in L&C. Which I doubt will happen, given the level of production and detail going into a movie like MOS.

 

[Derrick9592]

^^^

They're pretty close maybe a slight edge to cavill

Ha, when I saw this, I thought of the DC Trinity with him as Supes, Isabel as WW, and Evans as Batman.

 

[BH/HHH]

Luke Evans would rock as Batman

 

[Kryptonian Warrior]

Also I still stick to my guns that reeves was the most massive actor to play superman

Spoiler

Cavil is definitely the most defined. But at his peak reeves at 6'4" was probably a good 230+ lbs

It's Reeve, btw. Sorry, it's just a little pet peeve of mine when someone mispronounces his last name. There was George Reeves and Christopher Reeve.

Anyway, yes I agree with you that Reeve was the tallest out of all the on-screen Superman actors so far. I think that Cavill is definitely the most cut out of them all. They each have their own pros and cons, although I can't really think of any cons right off the top of my head as it relates to Cavill right this second.

 

[BH/HHH]

Reeve was the tallest but I don't think his build is anywhere near Cavill's

 

[Kryptonian Warrior]

Reeve was the tallest but I don't think his build is anywhere near Cavill's

Agreed. I think Reeve was more stocky and Cavill is more cut.

 

[Rockstar]

Routh looked big in Dylan Dog movie, maybe he looks more suited for the role now than he did during SR.

Brandon would tower over Cavill. There's bound to be a photo op with them at the MoS premiere. Should be interesting.

Cavill's height isn't important though. He isn't playing the classic Reeve Superman. His version of the character is so visually different. His Superman has more of a warrior/soldier look than the traditional big blue boyscout, which is a needed update. The classic Superman look is dead.

This is where it's at

 

[ChickenScratch]

Just a little note to you guys. My 2 year old niece was just walking by and she saw the picture of Cavill in the MOS costume and didn't stop. She did however crawl up on my lap and started pointing at the screen saying "Superman" and pointing to Brandon out of costume.

So far my niece has not responded favorably to Henry, or the new costume. When I show her she says "Superman shirt" because she has one and just assumes that Henry is wearing one. While show her CR, BR, DC or any of the animation with the classic costume.