I know there were many similarities but the show always tried to be its own thing. Its tendency to stray from the classic mythos and reimagine most of the characters in a modern way was one of the main reasons many fans looked down on it so much. It was cool to bash that show long before it became cool to bash Cavill's Superman. And you used to hear some of the same type of complaints, this guy is Clark Kent in name only, the "real Superman" would never do this or that, they take more time to try to expand their version of the DCU, as opposed to write the main characters better, etc. I started hearing those complaints 15+ years ago, to think I would still hear them today about the cinematic universe this time, feels really nostalgic to me. lol