World Your favorite Superman: Which actor did it best?

[Kevin Roegele]

Reeve gave everything he did his best effort. A real professional guy.

To be fair, I don't think any of the other actors gave anything less. Dean Cain clearly spend four years in the gym during Lois & Clark.

 

[El Payaso]

Yeah, I have always appreciated when the actor makes his best effort for his role, but I've never seen any infallible relationship between both.

Reeve was certainly the best, and he was a pro. I mean, the flight scenes wouldn't ahve been the same if Reeve hadn't done his best during the long long hours of excrutiating and torturing shooting.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Oh you poor thing, so oppressed.

It's just frustrating!

Even though I've already posted my opinion here I want to say how underrated Gerard Christopher is. He was fantastic as both Clark and Superboy in my opinion.

I agree, I really enjoy the Superboy show for what it is, and Gerard Christopher has a lot of charm about him.

I don't hate them, but most people are pretty delusional in their praise of them.

I think that comes with a lot of 'classics'. Like if you think it's bad your somehow just being shallow.

It can't possibly be that i've just never liked Superman being portrayed as a shiny smiley goody two shoes who the police, government, military and regular people all just happily accept. A Superman that never fights AGAINST the system or break the law if neccesary. Or that I don't like a Superman who goes into the fortress a confused boy and comes out a superhero with all the development off screen. Or that I don't like a Superman who answers to the will off his dead father's hologram. Or that I don't like a Clark Kent that is NOTHING of the real person, just a completely disguise, and an over the top one at that.

No, i'm just shallow because i'm young and think old things are cheesy and dated

I didn't even know that was possible. I could see hating 3 & 4... but not the Dick Donner ones...

See, this is what i'm talking about! It's like unheard of!

 

[RetrogradeOrbit]

It can't possibly be that i've just never liked Superman being portrayed as a shiny smiley goody two shoes who the police, government, military and regular people all just happily accept. A Superman that never fights AGAINST the system or break the law if neccesary. Or that I don't like a Superman who goes into the fortress a confused boy and comes out a superhero with all the development off screen. Or that I don't like a Superman who answers to the will off his dead father's hologram. Or that I don't like a Clark Kent that is NOTHING of the real person, just a completely disguise, and an over the top one at that.

No, i'm just shallow because i'm young and think old things are cheesy and dated

I don't think I will ever be able to watch Superman: The Movie ever again...






Just kidding.

I do love the first two Donner Superman films though. I was a young boy and I did truly believe a man could fly afterwards. I was a bit naïve, sue me. t:

But even I can see how dated these films have become, I'm ready for a new take on the mythos. My hope is that "Man of Steel" will be the defining Superman film for a new generation. I won't object if it does the same for me too...

But there will always be a place in my heart for Christopher Reeve's portrayal.

 

[El Payaso]

I don't hate them, but most people are pretty delusional in their praise of them.

How so? It is delusional to say reeve looked, sounded and felt like Superman come to life? Is it delusional to saym that STM set the standards for every superhero movie that came afterwards (and that many important superhero movies directors have openly said so)? Is it delusional to say that it dared to treat the superhero story seriously?

Are those things merely something come from delusion or aren't those facts?

I agree, I really enjoy the Superboy show for what it is, and Gerard Christopher has a lot of charm about him.

I'm really asking this seriouslyu: and you don't appreaciate STM and SII for what they are the same way you do with Superboy? I mean, after all Superboy took inspiration from Donner movies but left out anything good about them.

It can't possibly be that i've just never liked Superman being portrayed as a shiny smiley goody two shoes who the police, government, military and regular people all just happily accept. A Superman that never fights AGAINST the system or break the law if neccesary. Or that I don't like a Superman who goes into the fortress a confused boy and comes out a superhero with all the development off screen. Or that I don't like a Superman who answers to the will off his dead father's hologram. Or that I don't like a Clark Kent that is NOTHING of the real person, just a completely disguise, and an over the top one at that.

I'd love to see a different approach to Superman, where he should face he's different but with a noble mission, and that he must renounce to many things that are normal and granted for other people, where he questions himself about how governments and authorities are part of "the problem" not just institutions he must blindly obey, where people are afraid of him for being an extraterrestial and some of them will always be reluctant and distrust to his presence, where he must deal with his Clark/Superman duality.

But being portrayed as a shiny smiley goody two shoes who the police, government, military and regular people all just happily accept, that never fights AGAINST the system or break the law if neccesary, that goes into the fortress a confused boy and comes out a superhero with all the development off screen, etc etc is part of what Superman has traditionally been.

How could we blame Donner for doing it faithfully to the tradition?

But yes, after decades and many other movies that have set different standards we can finally be ready for something else that wouldn't have been appreciated in 1978.

 

[Fudgie]

To be fair, I don't think any of the other actors gave anything less. Dean Cain clearly spend four years in the gym during Lois & Clark.

I suppose. But Cain never felt right as Supes for me.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

I don't think I will ever be able to watch Superman: The Movie ever again...






Just kidding.

I do love the first two Donner Superman films though. I was a young boy and I did truly believe a man could fly afterwards. I was a bit naïve, sue me. t:

But even I can see how dated these films have become, I'm ready for a new take on the mythos. My hope is that "Man of Steel" will be the defining Superman film for a new generation. I won't object if it does the same for me too...

But there will always be a place in my heart for Christopher Reeve's portrayal.

That's fair enough

I actually don't think I even saw the Superman movies until I was about 10, but even at that age I saw them as cheesy and outdated, and didn't like Chris Reeve's Superman.

I grew up with Dean Cain. He's why I wore a towel tucked into the t-shirt i'd drawn an 's' on. He's why I used to try over and over again to jump off the sofa and not land

FYI I don't HATE the old movies. I watch them every now and then, there are parts about them that I like. I just don't love them.

How so? It is delusional to say reeve looked, sounded and felt like Superman come to life? Is it delusional to saym that STM set the standards for every superhero movie that came afterwards (and that many important superhero movies directors have openly said so)? Is it delusional to say that it dared to treat the superhero story seriously?

Are those things merely something come from delusion or aren't those facts?

The bolded one is most definitely not fact. It's opinion. The other two points are very argueably fact, yes.

I'm really asking this seriouslyu: and you don't appreaciate STM and SII for what they are the same way you do with Superboy? I mean, after all Superboy took inspiration from Donner movies but left out anything good about them.

Superboy didn't have an ice castle, or a Jor-el telling him how to be a hero.

Clark in Superboy wasn't quite as much of a characature. Lana was his best friend and respected him, even if she sometimes thought him a bit of an innocent.

That's just two of the major differences. I could go into a whole rant about it, but I won't

I'm also a lot more forgiving of Superboy because it takes itself a little less seriously. I don't mind it being cheesy and camp, because it's not trying to be anything but cheesy and camp.

Whereas, like you said, the Reeve movies where trying to be serious. But I can't take them seriously. I can't even watch them without cringing at points.

I'd love to see a different approach to Superman, where he should face he's different but with a noble mission, and that he must renounce to many things that are normal and granted for other people, where he questions himself about how governments and authorities are part of "the problem" not just institutions he must blindly obey, where people are afraid of him for being an extraterrestial and some of them will always be reluctant and distrust to his presence, where he must deal with his Clark/Superman duality.

But being portrayed as a shiny smiley goody two shoes who the police, government, military and regular people all just happily accept, that never fights AGAINST the system or break the law if neccesary, that goes into the fortress a confused boy and comes out a superhero with all the development off screen, etc etc is part of what Superman has traditionally been.

How could we blame Donner for doing it faithfully to the tradition?

But yes, after decades and many other movies that have set different standards we can finally be ready for something else that wouldn't have been appreciated in 1978.

Have you read even the first few issues of action comics?

By the end of issue 8, he's wanted by the police. He never began as a shiney smiling goody two shoes; as someone people just readily accepted; as someone who had to spend months in a fortress listening to his hologram father's lectures before he'd decide to become a hero; or as someone who co operated with the system.

In 1939, he was the opposite of that.

Yes, the comics evolved a lot through time as well. And we've seen all kinds of interpretations of Superman come out of that.

But Donner isn't just some blameless guy who only stuck to the source material and can't be faulted for that. He chose the aspects of Superman that he liked, he added plenty of his own ideas too.

In a lot of ways, his movies even effected future comics IMO.

 

[Micromind]

It's truly sad to watch Reeve in Superman IV, he himself knowing he is in an awful movie, an insult to a once-great franchise. On set, Reeve told Jon Cryer (Lenny Luthor) that the movie was going to be really bad. And yet Reeve and Gene Hackman, ever professional, give performances much better than the movie deserves.

Anyway, I'll attempt to rank the Superman actors....


1. Christopher Reeve - obviously.
2. Brandon Routh - a detatched alien messiah.
3. Kirk Alynn - Siegel and Schuster's character come to life.
4. George Reeves - charming performance, but a little too relaxed and 'uncle-y'.
5. Dean Cain - fantastic in every way except when he is in the super suit.

I agree with this, I will just add that -

Tom Welling was a good as farm boy from Smallville.

 

[RetrogradeOrbit]

I actually don't think I even saw the Superman movies until I was about 10, but even at that age I saw them as cheesy and outdated, and didn't like Chris Reeve's Superman.

What is it about Reeve's portrayal that you don't like?

 

[The Batman]

I love how all of a sudden, Morrison's Golden Age Revivial of Superman comes out, and now people act like they ALWAYS supported that version. How are you going to bash Reeve's Superman for having the standard Superman tropes, then support Dean Cain's Superman...who basically had the same tropes as well, give or take a few things? Hell, NO media version of Superman has ever captured the original version, so bashing Donner/Reeve on those merits is silly.

As I said, before Morrison revived Golden Age Supes, 90 % of this board loved post crisis Superman...who was a shiny smiling goody two shoes who was loved by the police, millitary, and government most of the time...hell, post crisis Superman was known for being a government lackey.

 

[TruerToTheCore]

I love how all of a sudden, Morrison's Golden Age Revivial of Superman comes out, and now people act like they ALWAYS supported that version. How are you going to bash Reeve's Superman for having the standard Superman tropes, then support Dean Cain's Superman...who basically had the same tropes as well, give or take a few things? Hell, NO media version of Superman has ever captured the original version, so bashing Donner/Reeve on those merits is silly.

As I said, before Morrison revived Golden Age Supes, 90 % of this board loved post crisis Superman...who was a shiny smiling goody two shoes who was loved by the police, millitary, and government most of the time...hell, post crisis Superman was known for being a government lackey.

QFT.

Comic book fanboys have taught me so much about human psychology over the years, it's scary. Sheep mentality, quest for leadership and the very annoying short-term thinking "as long as everything seems kinda alright at the moment there is no problem, never will be and it's better than in the past."

I've argued for more than 20 years how much the Post-Crisis Superman is a failure and actually alienated more and more readers and always got attacked for that and that they need to establish a modern take that mixes the Golden and Bronze Age. Now, Morrison essentially does that and people behave like they always wanted that too.

 

[Fudgie]

I love how all of a sudden, Morrison's Golden Age Revivial of Superman comes out, and now people act like they ALWAYS supported that version. How are you going to bash Reeve's Superman for having the standard Superman tropes, then support Dean Cain's Superman...who basically had the same tropes as well, give or take a few things? Hell, NO media version of Superman has ever captured the original version, so bashing Donner/Reeve on those merits is silly.

As I said, before Morrison revived Golden Age Supes, 90 % of this board loved post crisis Superman...who was a shiny smiling goody two shoes who was loved by the police, millitary, and government most of the time...hell, post crisis Superman was known for being a government lackey.

Well said there.

 

[The Batman]

QFT.

Comic book fanboys have taught me so much about human psychology over the years, it's scary. Sheep mentality, quest for leadership and the very annoying short-term thinking "as long as everything seems kinda alright at the moment there is no problem, never will be and it's better than in the past."

I've argued for more than 20 years how much the Post-Crisis Superman is a failure and actually alienated more and more readers and always got attacked for that and that they need to establish a modern take that mixes the Golden and Bronze Age. Now, Morrison essentially does that and people behave like they always wanted that too.

It is scary. Its like...really? Its kinda sad that most fans cant see the potential in something until the hot new writer puts a new can of paint over it. Guys like you and Kuro have said for years that Superman would be better if he were closer to the original idea, and people laughed at you and said that he was one dimensional. Now, Superman has been the number two best selling solo character at DC for months....with his characterization being firmly Siegel/Shuster, and now people jump on the bandwagon.

 

[MydnightPhoenix]

1. Christopher Reeve
2. Tim Daly
3. Brandon Routh
4. Dean Cain-I think he did much better as Clark Kent than he did as Superman
I still don't have a hard time even considering Tom Welling as Superman, and when I do he is arguably the weakest, least intelligent, BDA of any Superman ever portrayed.