Superman & Lois Tyler Hoechlin is Clark Kent/Superman

[flickchick85]

He looks more like a Superman to me. I know they’re often drawn to look similar, but there’s something about Hoechlin that I think is far more Superman-esque.

Ditto. I think for me it's because there's a ruggedness I've always wanted to see in Superman that I see in drawings of him on the comic book page all the time, but never onscreen before Tyler. With Bruce Wayne (at least the young version, before he's become all weathered from years of waging a never-ending war on crime), I want him to look like a high-brow, refined pretty boy rich kid who's just grown into a badass (and in that sense, I see Henry Cavill as more of a Bruce Wayne type, honestly). That's not Tyler to me. He's got that old-fashioned (Old Hollywood?) masculine look and farm-bred, baseball-loving Americana vibe that I've always wanted from an onscreen Supes.

 

[Boy Scout]

Ditto. I think for me it's because there's a ruggedness I've always wanted to see in Superman that I see in drawings of him on the comic book page all the time, but never onscreen before Tyler. With Bruce Wayne (at least the young version, before he's become all weathered from years of waging a never-ending war on crime), I want him to look like a high-brow, refined pretty boy rich kid who's just grown into a badass (and in that sense, I see Henry Cavill as more of a Bruce Wayne type, honestly). That's not Tyler to me. He's got that old-fashioned (Old Hollywood?) masculine look and farm-bred, baseball-loving Americana vibe that I've always wanted from an onscreen Supes.

Spot on. I couldn’t put into words what I always felt separated the two from a visual perspective, but that’s exactly it. There’s an edged sophistication to Bruce, whereas Clark is basically just a handsome dude.

 

[flickchick85]

Spot on. I couldn’t put into words what I always felt separated the two from a visual perspective, but that’s exactly it. There’s an edged sophistication to Bruce, whereas Clark is basically just a handsome dude.

Yeah I think I blame the Timm-verse for this distinction in my brain, because while they are often drawn similarly in the comics, in the later seasons of the animated shows when they were together frequently, they made Bruce the most strikingly beautiful rich guy ever, and had every woman in the vicinity swooning over him, while Clark was just...there, lol. So in my head, Bruce became forever the pretty boy, and Clark was the everyman, even though he was clearly handsome too, just in a more approachable sense I guess. But of course, that distinction also fits their backgrounds, so it's not just the Timm-verse to blame.

 

[SupermanFan]

Ditto. I think for me it's because there's a ruggedness I've always wanted to see in Superman that I see in drawings of him on the comic book page all the time, but never onscreen before Tyler. With Bruce Wayne (at least the young version, before he's become all weathered from years of waging a never-ending war on crime), I want him to look like a high-brow, refined pretty boy rich kid who's just grown into a badass (and in that sense, I see Henry Cavill as more of a Bruce Wayne type, honestly). That's not Tyler to me. He's got that old-fashioned (Old Hollywood?) masculine look and farm-bred, baseball-loving Americana vibe that I've always wanted from an onscreen Supes.

While I do disagree on Cavill (I think he looks plenty rugged and way more like Superman than Bruce Wayne). I do agree on the ruggedness aspect of a Superman. I was a huge fan of the idea of Josh Hartnett as Superman back in 2003 (honestly I think he’d have been phenomenal). I think he has that ruggedness that Superman has had in various incarnations (such as the DCAU). Tyler definitely has it too, maybe more so than anyone else.

 

[flickchick85]

To each their own on Cavill. I just could never in a million years buy him working every day on a Kansas farm, lol. I don't care how many muscles or mustaches he grows to hide it: that boy is 100% pampered British boys school if ever I've seen it. I'd bet his hands don't even know what calluses are...unless they got one from playing video games.

 

[Silvermoth]

It’s great to see a superman that has that twinkle in his eye. That sort of “this is fun” attitude which makes the character so great

 

[Boy Scout]

My favorite moment with Hoechlin was on SG when he criticized a random goon for trying to punch him in the face after bullets did nothing. That should be Superman’s, “I’m Batman.”

 

[flickchick85]

That's definitely up there for me. I also loved that moment in the S2 finale when he tosses that Daxamite that Rhea had dispatched to kill him out the CatCo window and was all, "well, he tried." I adored Tyler's delivery of that because it was so sincere, like Clark was genuinely feeling bad for the guy in that moment, lol.

And when he first meets everyone in the DEO. All the agents standing back and staring at him in awe while Clark greets them all like he's just their plumber or something basically sums up my ideal take on the character in one scene.

 

[Herolee10]

I'm curious to hear but do any of you guys have like a height preference for how tall you would envision your ideal version of Superman to be? I only ask because I know there are critics out there would have pointed out on how Tyler is short compared to other actors that had previously portrayed Superman.

 

[flickchick85]

I'm curious to hear but do any of you guys have like a height preference for how tall you would envision your ideal version of Superman to be? I only ask because I know there are critics out there would have pointed out on how Tyler is short compared to other actors that had previously portrayed Superman.

The only time I've had a problem with Superman's height was when he was dwarfed on screen by the majority of the Justice League including Diana. Generally, as long as he's 6ft. or taller, his height doesn't matter to me. But if he's gonna be constantly surrounded by people over 6' don't have him on the lower end, or at least make him taller in camera, which is easy to do. Just like you don't cast a 6'3" Jimmy Olsen to a 6' Superman. But then, Mehcad was miscast in every way imaginable, imo, so that's not a Tyler problem for me. Dean Cain was the same height as Tyler and never seemed too short for the role, imo.

The height I imagine Supes being when I read him is about 6'3."

 

[Dr.]

The height I imagine Supes being when I read him is about 6'3."

Back in the Silver/Bronze Ages, Superman’s height was consistently advertised as 6’2”. (Batman was 6’3”). But later, the comics upgraded him to 6’4” - apparently to conform to the line in Superman the Movie (which, in turn, was Chris Reeve’s height).

Of course, a conspicuously larger Superman means likewise for Clark Kent - making an already implausible disguise even more so. Arguably, this reached an extreme in All-Star Superman. Not only were both Supes and CK towering hulks; but Lois Lane (a grown woman) looked like a tiny young girl by comparison. Even granting the artistic “stylization,” the effect was… a tad creepy.

Bottom line: a tallish Superman - but not too tall - is probably the ideal.

 

[Boy Scout]

I give zero ****s about height. As long as Superman isn’t a dwarf, I don’t think it matters. If we can make a man fly, we can give him a box to stand on.

 

[SupermanFan]

It’s great to see a superman that has that twinkle in his eye. That sort of “this is fun” attitude which makes the character so great

Totally agree, it’s an aspect of Superman that is necessary.

My favorite moment with Hoechlin was on SG when he criticized a random goon for trying to punch him in the face after bullets did nothing. That should be Superman’s, “I’m Batman.”

That's definitely up there for me. I also loved that moment in the S2 finale when he tosses that Daxamite that Rhea had dispatched to kill him out the CatCo window and was all, "well, he tried." I adored Tyler's delivery of that because it was so sincere, like Clark was genuinely feeling bad for the guy in that moment, lol.

And when he first meets everyone in the DEO. All the agents standing back and staring at him in awe while Clark greets them all like he's just their plumber or something basically sums up my ideal take on the character in one scene.

Those moments are both amazing. A few of my favourites are when he saved that family from the drones and he winked at the kid. That was a quintessential Superman moment

Hoechlin has made me chuckle a few times, in both those moments you both mentioned and the stuff with Cat (sway). But the one I loved most was in Elseworlds when he said “nice suit” to Deegan. I just absolutely adored that.

I really do love how much Hoechlin has gotten to do as Superman in so few appearances. We’ve seen him be witty, funny, pissed off, etc. He’s gotten to play a bad version of Superman too. For so few appearances he’s had more to do than either Routh or Cavill did in the 4 movies they were in.

 

[Babillygunn]

I just posted this in the “things you never realized...” thread in the Misc Movies forum, but I just realized while watching Road to Perdition for the first time in over ten years that Tyler was the kid in that movie. That makes me feel ancient.

 

[Dark Raven]

Ditto. I think for me it's because there's a ruggedness I've always wanted to see in Superman that I see in drawings of him on the comic book page all the time, but never onscreen before Tyler. With Bruce Wayne (at least the young version, before he's become all weathered from years of waging a never-ending war on crime), I want him to look like a high-brow, refined pretty boy rich kid who's just grown into a badass (and in that sense, I see Henry Cavill as more of a Bruce Wayne type, honestly). That's not Tyler to me. He's got that old-fashioned (Old Hollywood?) masculine look and farm-bred, baseball-loving Americana vibe that I've always wanted from an onscreen Supes.

Hoechlin is very similar in appearance to the likes of Jeffrey Hunter (who played Captain Pike in the original "Star Trek" pilot, in the Western "the Searchers" alongside John Wayne, and Jesus in "King of Kings"). He was definitely old school Hollywood and looks like he could've played a classic Superman himself.

To each their own on Cavill. I just could never in a million years buy him working every day on a Kansas farm, lol. I don't care how many muscles or mustaches he grows to hide it: that boy is 100% pampered British boys school if ever I've seen it. I'd bet his hands don't even know what calluses are...unless they got one from playing video games.

Cavill is very much an old Etonian public school boy type. He seems like he would be more at home in a Richard Curtis British comedy.

The only time I've had a problem with Superman's height was when he was dwarfed on screen by the majority of the Justice League including Diana. Generally, as long as he's 6ft. or taller, his height doesn't matter to me. But if he's gonna be constantly surrounded by people over 6' don't have him on the lower end, or at least make him taller in camera, which is easy to do. Just like you don't cast a 6'3" Jimmy Olsen to a 6' Superman. But then, Mehcad was miscast in every way imaginable, imo, so that's not a Tyler problem for me. Dean Cain was the same height as Tyler and never seemed too short for the role, imo.

The height I imagine Supes being when I read him is about 6'3."

Mechad should've been someone like Steel or Green Lantern. He was not only much taller than Tyler but also bigger built. He never looked like he was little Jimmy Olsen but was probably a football player and jock even in high school.

 

[Dark Raven]

I give zero ****s about height. As long as Superman isn’t a dwarf, I don’t think it matters. If we can make a man fly, we can give him a box to stand on.

Well he couldn't really be Tom Cruise's height. That isn't a dwarf but is still too short. If he were flying to rescue a kitten from a tree, when he's nearly at the branch he looks like he'd need Supergirl to come and lift him up the rest of the way to help him reach up properly.

 

[Tyler Yates]

Tyler is MY SUPERMAN

 

[SupermanFan]

Tyler is MY SUPERMAN

Tyler really is fantastic in the role, for me he has the best combination of Clark & Superman out of any live action incarnation. The balance is Perfect.

 

[WhoMani]

My issue has never been with Tyler but with the way he's been written as I find this version of Superman to be underwhelming. Maybe him getting a chance in the limelight and away from Supergirl might help me finally connect with him.

 

[flickchick85]

He’s already my favorite live-action take on the character (as Super Routh has said, I think he struck the perfect balance of both Clark and Superman, as well as traditional and modern), so I’d imagine him getting his own spotlight will only make that even more the case.

 

[Dark Raven]

I hope they show him as a more assertive, competent and go-get-em reporter like the Superman animated series than just a completely inept and bumbling nerd like Christopher Reeve.

I'm guessing the Reeve Clark Kent was a complete fiction and not his real personality at all? Otherwise how would he suddenly be any different when he becomes Superman just because he has a costume? Which means his Clark wasn't the real person at all but a facade, unlike later portrayals of Superman where Clark is the real personality (eg Dean Cain, Tom Welling, Henry Cavill and maybe Tyler Hoechlin). I'm guessing Routh's Superman is just the same as Reeve's Superman.

 

[LL2K2]

Hoechlin's Clark, as mild-mannered and klutzy as he was at times, nevertheless was a hard-nosed reporter when it mattered the most. For example, in "The Adventures of Supergirl," when he and Kara went to interview Lena regarding the Venture shuttle explosion, you could see some of Superman's assertiveness come through:

Lena: Just ask me what you want to ask, Mr. Kent. Did I have anything to do with the Venture explosion?

Clark: Did you?

Lena: You wouldn't be asking me if my last name was Smith.

Clark: Oh, but it's not. It's Luthor.

Lena (astonished): Some steel under that Kansas wheat...I wasn't always. I was adopted when I was four.

 

[SupermanFan]

He’s already my favorite live-action take on the character (as Super Routh has said, I think he struck the perfect balance of both Clark and Superman, as well as traditional and modern), so I’d imagine him getting his own spotlight will only make that even more the case.

I honestly can’t wait to see him given even more layers this time as Clark the Father. Hoechlin for his few appearances has really been given the chance to explore many different facets of the character. We’ve seen him be the older brother type, the klutzy Clark, the hard hitting reporter Clark, Superman the public image, evil Superman with Deegan Supes etc. All of which he did wonderfully. I think we’re in for a real treat.

 

[WhoMani]

He's one of my least favorite interpretation of Superman but I will go into the show with a open mind and hope I like the show in general. If I still don't like this Superman then it's not end of the world and I will simply stop watching the show. But the spoilers don't me have high hopes for the character or the show itself.

 

[SupermanFan]

He's one of my least favorite interpretation of Superman but I will go into the show with a open mind and hope I like the show in general. If I still don't like this Superman then it's not end of the world and I will simply stop watching the show. But the spoilers don't me have high hopes for the character or the show itself.

As someone whose read the pilot script I can say for sure that it’s one of the best takes on Superman I’ve ever read.