Tom Welling as Superman

[The Incredible Hulk]

I just cant get past that awful rubber suit....

 

[user123456789]

that looks fantastic to me

 

[darkzombiemutt]

Looks good to me.

 

[AgentPat]

I think it's so-so. Bad pic of Welling to use and that's not all his face...

I think it's a little misleading because Mike "flipped" the original, and like all faces, there's always something strange when you see it in mirror image...

^ This image is mirrored; it's not how it was seen on the show.

The other thing about Mike's manip is that Welling has a different hairline. It naturally parts on the left, but when they want to make him look different *cough*Superman-ish*cough*, they part it on the right...

Here's a better photo, which is old, but still accurate. It shows his actual hairline. It's a large image, so I'll just link it: 600x800.

I just cant get past that awful rubber suit....

Well, yeah, it does bother me too, but for a manip, it's less about the suit design and more about how it changes his body. Pickle had asked recently why there weren't more manips being made of Welling since there were so many new images to work with. I think Mike's manip provides a good answer to that question. While the manip itself is well done - notice Mike changed the belt, collar cut, cape attachment, and did a nice job color matching the screen cap from Phoenix with the magazine scan from the film - it still just doesn't look "right." Why? 'Cause the face is flipped, the hairline isn't his, and most egregious of all - it's not Welling's body.

Welling has hanging shoulders for starters...

That feature would cause the cape to drape differently over his traps. It's minor, but it does change the appearance of the cape at the collar bone and how it might pleat higher around the back of his neck. It has the added effect of making his neck look wider at its base. Note DarkB's manip as a comparison...

The real anomaly however (probably my biggest beef with the film's suit) is the whole torso area - the chest, ribs and abs. What's going on there? It never looked natural to me. It's VERY different from Tom's physique.

Welling has decent lats, which give him a moderate V shape, but his ribs don't stick out like that. I don't think I've seen *anybody's* ribs stick out quite like that. It's just odd. Welling also has a deep lateral separation that starts at his neck just above the sternum and cuts down through his pecs, each ab section, and ends at the navel...

It's a feature that I believe would be *very* noticeable through a skin tight body suit.

Wait for it...

My other pet peeve has been the size of the logo. I think the perfect size would be like the one in that panel above, which waddaya know, appears to be *exactly* what the producers are shooting for...

Yes, Pat's back! LOL

 

[rumpuso]

^ This is why it was such a high crime that you were missing for several days. There is no one who can fill your shoes.

Brilliant post.

 

[AgentPat]

^ This is why it was such a high crime that you were missing for several days.

Aw, shucks. [turns red and shuffles feet] Thanks, Chel!

 

[RakuMon]

Smallville made MoviesOnline's top five best tv shows still on the air:

3. "Smallville" - Throughout comics history, the story of Superman has fascinated fans as a pivotal piece of Americana. Superman was the very first real superhero, and his adventures have been told time and time again in comic books, television shows, and motion pictures. The latest TV incarnation of Superman, however, revolutionized the way fans looked at the larger than life icon and introduced Clark Kent, Lex Luthor, and Lana Lang to a whole new generation, some of which had oddly enough never even heard of Superman. Telling the origin of Superman from the very start of learning his identity is a concept explored only for moments at a time in any given past media. Until "Smallville" came along, the early years of Superman were left in the dark and very much unexplored, and since it premiered 5 years ago, "Smallville" has been reinventing the classic and original superhero, World's Greatest Hero nonetheless. The series has captured so much that we knew about Superman and created so much that we never imagined about him, as well as redefining much of the mythology to become truly unique in its own right, and that exceptional slant continues to shine so brightly as to have fans claiming its stars and characters as some of the best to ever carry the Superman torch. Nothing says it better than Christopher Reeve appearing on the show twice officially passing this torch along for this new adaptation of the mythos. As its tagline states, "Every story has a beginning," and "Smallville" tells it like no one else ever has.

http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_8835.html

 

[darkzombiemutt]

sweet. Now if they could just stop recycling plot devices in the show, maybe they could make it higher on the list.

 

[RakuMon]

Scripps Howard News has a nice history of screen portrayals of Superman.
http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=SUPERLEGACY-FILM-06-22-06
Here are the Smallville-relevant bits:

"Smallville," the WB series that debuted in October 2001, with America newly ready to embrace a superhero, broadened and deepened the legend of Clark Kent/Superman by focusing on his adolescence. Now heading into its sixth season (on the new CW), the show struck a chord with viewers by using Clark's newly realized power as a metaphor for puberty.

As Clark, Tom Welling is that most mythic of figures: an incredibly gorgeous high-school boy who is nice to everyone and sweet to his parents. Welling emanates strength as well as surges of pride. But, like Reeve, he always maintains an innocence. Even as he's saving you, you want to tousle his hair.

Yet, even over the course of five seasons, Welling hasn't made the impact Reeve made in just four films (or rather, three films, since nobody saw the fourth). That's why Reeve is the quintessential screen Superman, at least until we see what Routh has to offer.

And here's what she has to say about Erica's Lois:

Because "Smallville" takes place during Clark's youth, his main love interest is childhood sweetheart Lana Lang. Erica Durance didn't show up as teen reporter Lois until the fourth season, and her portrayal is spirited but lacking in depth. But it's fun to witness the mature interplay between Welling and Durance, both pushing 30 and older than Routh and Bosworth, who play the characters as adults in "Superman Returns."

 

[AgentPat]

Gotta luv all the recent articles on the Superman topic.

Here's some SV-related excerpts from another...

'Superman' expert looks forward to latest incarnation
By BARBARA VANCHERI
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
23-JUN-06

Back in the day, Tom De Haven raided his family's supply of sandwich bags for something much more important than peanut-butter sandwiches: Superman comic books.

"Now they have all this Mylar, and it's all really good" for preservation. "I just used to put them in the earliest versions of plastic sandwich bags. I don't know how well they're doing, but they're all in plastic and sealed in boxes. I assume they're OK."

Today, the 57-year-old is working on a nonfiction book about Superman for the "American Icons" series developed by Yale University Press. His 2005 novel, "It's Superman," re-imagining the life of a young Clark Kent in the 1930s, will come out in paperback in late August.

...[snip]...

De Haven was rooting for another Superman, "Smallville" star Welling, to make the leap to the big screen. "He's marvelous in that show. He just kind of comes across to me as the kind of sweet-natured, Chris Reeve sort of Superman, that kind of Superboy I always liked.

"At the beginning of his career, what would he do? He didn't know how to do any of these things. He didn't know how to take control of his vision or his flight or his superhearing. (Welling) plays it very, very well as an intelligent kid who's kind of fascinated and appalled by what's happening to his body."

Full article can be read here:
http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=SUPEREXPERT-FILM-06-23-06

 

[RakuMon]

With all the attention surrounding Superman, it's nice to see Welling and SV get some of the residual. Here in EW's history of Superman, is their take on Smallville. Though the writer gets the thing about Chloe wrong:

http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1208523-10-10_1||249578|1_,00.html

TEEN TITAN
On Smallville (2001-present), Clark Kent (Tom Welling, left) is like many teen heroes on The WB: beautiful, beset by adolescent frustrations, and burdened with a heavy secret. The series tries more for realism than the old Superboy comics did; Clark still crushes on Lana Lang (Kristen Kreuk) and maintains an uneasy friendship with the troubled Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum, right), but there's no cape, no tights, and no blatant heroics that would expose the secret known only to Clark's adoptive parents (John Schneider and Annette O'Toole, who played Lana Lang in 1983's Superman III). Clark's pal Chloe (Allison Mack) became so popular that she was written into the comics. Welling was reportedly passed over for the big-screen role of Clark Kent in Superman Returns so that he could keep the character alive on TV. After all, this Kent fella, despite all the stories that have been told about him so far, still has a long future ahead of him.
(Posted:06/27/06)

 

[Max]

This was article in the MSNB web page by Erik Lundegaard (6/26/06) entitled "Sex and the Superman." It was an article about all the incarnations about the different portrayals of Superman, and it acknowledged Smallville. Here's what he had to say

"Smallville" is actually one of the best revisionist looks at the Superman myth. The Kryptonian baby arrives during a meteor shower that does bad stuff to people in Smallville -- giving him requisite "supervillains" to battle. Clark's own powers accumulate via a kind of super-adolescence he doesn't understand. The show is one long bidungsroman. We know what he will become, and it's fun watching him not quite get there.

Initially this Clark was the town nerd who fumbled and collapsed around Lana Lang because of her kryptonite necklace, but eventually it became silly pretending that actor Tom Welling wasn't 6-foot-3 and model-handsome. So they didn't. They fetishized him. Many episodes wind up with Clark tied up and/or shirtless. "Who's the hottie in primary colors?" says a new girl in town. The first time Lois Lane sees him he's standing in a field without a stich on. This is Clark for girls as opposed to boys. He's mild-mannered, hot, and rescues everyone. Clark isn't an everyman here, he's a superman. The break hasn't been made yet.

 

[avidreader]

^^^^ Nice Max.

I cant remember which article it was, but I like the one that said that Smallville's Clark was trying to deal with being a hero and a normal guy. It really embodied what he is all about and why this Clark would choose to wear a suit later on.

 

[avidreader]

The Lexington-Herald Leader contains an article comparing the various men who have played Superman, based on physique, hair and clothing. Here’s what they have to say about Tom Welling's physique:

"He has a very strong symmetrical and toned physique that is very apparent by his strong lean jaw structure. He has long arms yet his lengthy physique complements this and his shoulder-to-waist ratio gives him the classic 'V' look that bodybuilders and comic book superheroes display, but less dramatic and extreme."

Where's that picture Pat? Ah, she's away..... when she gets back she can post it. Again.

 

[Max]

The Lexington-Herald Leader contains an article comparing the various men who have played Superman, based on physique, hair and clothing. Here’s what they have to say about Tom Welling's physique:


Where's that picture Pat? Ah, she's away..... when she gets back she can post it. Again.

I wonder what picture you could possibly be referring to, Avid.

 

[user123456789]

The Lexington-Herald Leader contains an article comparing the various men who have played Superman, based on physique, hair and clothing.

A mixed bag. In one photo, Brown is complimentary of Welling's hair, calling it "soft-textured, very sexy." In another, he noted, there's "way too much product, looks like Product-Man."

rofl product-man???

 

[triplet]

Here's an aritcle on all the incarnations of Big Blue on the small screen:

http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/...0060702/NEWS/607020342/1050&template=currents

Here's what the writer had to say about Smallville:

It was teenagers, though, who should be credited with keeping Superman relevant these past few years. Without them, the young-adult skewing WB network would never have found success with Smallville.

Launching in the fall of 2001, almost a month before Justice League premiered, the show quickly established a formula that would woo die-hard fans and Superman newcomers for five seasons (and counting). In the world of Smallville, which has Clark Kent growing up in modern times, there are superpowers, yes, but no tights. And while superhuman leaps aren't out of the question, flying certainly is. And just when the show seems to get too caught up in alien plans for world domination that can only be stopped by some superhuman feats, it cuts to the tragic, star-crossed love story of young Clark (Tom Welling) and Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk).

In the pilot episode, after noticing Clark is reading a book by Nietzsche, Lana asks him, "So, what are you, Clark? Man or Superman?" Thankfully, Smallville, which moves to the new CW network this fall, doesn't make him choose.

The show's ability to explore both sides of our hero's character is what gives Smallville its power - and what makes it the best Superman saga since 1978. On any sized screen.

 

[avidreader]

Nice Triplet. I like this line.

The show's ability to explore both sides of our hero's character is what gives Smallville its power - and what makes it the best Superman saga since 1978. On any sized screen.

 

[Timstuff]

Since Superman Returns is kind of flopping hopefully that means Warner Bros. will be a little less reluctant about letting TW don the tights for SV's finale.

 

[Ultimate_Superman]

Its not flopping its doing better then Batman Begins. To be honest its doing better then I expected with the story line they have and everything and its doing very well for a restart. Also its not a flop if it has 84 + mil and is the number one movie (and this is not counting the 4th of July sales.)

 

[Kaboom]

^^^i had wanted to say the same thing tony, but you know, the whole prospect of getting banned...figured it wasnt worth it

 

[Zing79]

Its not flopping its doing better then Batman Begins. To be honest its doing better then I expected with the story line they have and everything and its doing very well for a restart. Also its ot a flop if it has 84 + mil and is the number one movie (and this is not counting the 4th of July sales.)

uh huh

/brings it back on topic

And how does this all relate to SV you say? Between the two properties SV is clearly the cash cow, and I highly doubt they're going to keep handcuffing the show with rules because of a film property that isn't as nice on the bottom line.

 

[Ultimate_Superman]

uh huh

/brings it back on topic

And how does this all relate to SV you say? Between the two properties SV is clearly the cash cow, and I highly doubt they're going to keep handcuffing the show with rules because of a film property that isn't as nice on the bottom line.

There not really handcuffing SV now. The only thing with SV is that if they do anything from Superman it has to look close to the movie other then that how are they handcuffing them? I mean SV has the Daily Planet, they have Lois, they have the FOS, they have Zod, hell they are getting Jimmy so they are not being handcuff. They have a bad writing staff right now but other then that they have no real reason as to why you can say they are being handcuff or told what to do.

 

[Bruce_Wayne29]

Its not flopping its doing better then Batman Begins. To be honest its doing better then I expected with the story line they have and everything and its doing very well for a restart. Also its not a flop if it has 84 + mil and is the number one movie (and this is not counting the 4th of July sales.)

Until it makes 250 million they won't see any profit, so it can't really be called a sucess until then. Actually I thought it would do a lot better than it did given all the praise it has been getting. I underestimated the millions of ppl who don't relate to that story, that horrible suit and that Superman.

 

[Ultimate_Superman]

Until it makes 250 million they won't see any profit, so it can't really be called a sucess until then. Actually I thought it would do a lot better than it did given all the praise it has been getting. I underestimated the millions of ppl who don't relate to that story, that horrible suit and that Superman.

The suit looks better in IMAX but it is doing better then BB but we must not speak of these things unless we want to get banned.