Who was/is your favorite live action Superman?

[luvmysuper]

I am, and have always been a huge fan of Superman, from the comics, the animated releases, the theatrical serials, the movies and the TV series.
There are currently 13 actors who have been cast as Superman in live action films/series. These are the live action guys, not the animated guys.
I'll lay out who has been cast, and tell you my favorite actors and my favorite "Supe Suit", and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Kirk Alyn
Superman (1948) & Atom Man vs. Superman (1950)
Actor: The theatrical serials, which had 15 episodes each were the first live action Superman filmed. Have to give them credit, the serials hold up pretty well, though he's not my fave. As this was 1948 his flying scenes were actually animation/cartoon sequences.
Suit: The too long trunks look odd and his top looks like a sweater - but kudos for giving it a go! Of note is that the suit was NOT red and blue, it was gray and black. No color back then!
Note: Atom Man in the second serial was Lex Luthor.

George Reeves
Adventures of Superman (1952-1958)
Actor: My favorite Superman. He was the Superman I grew up with. Reeves did his best to personify Superman in his acting both on screen and in personal appearances.
Suit: Better than the previous, but still looks kind of ill fitting. Reeves was physically built to fill out the suit and had the stature to carry it off.

David Wilson
It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman (1975)
Actor: This televised musical based on a broadway play with Leslie Ann Warren as Lois Lane was pure hokum, was played very campy, and was not really Superman in anything but name.
Suit: A comic Book rendition with a disproportionate S logo. Iron your belt man!

Christopher Reeve
Superman: The Movie (1978)
Superman II (1980)
Superman III (1983)
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
Actor: Reeves had the looks, the physique and the talent to make you believe he WAS Superman. My second favorite Superman after George Reeves.
Suit: Very good. The S logo was a bit oversized, but I don't think anyone could have asked for better at that point in history.

John Haymes Newton
Gerard Christopher
Superboy (1988-1992)
Actors: I have not watched this series with Newton in Season 1 and Christopher for the remainder. Newton was a better looking Superman than Christopher, though they both had pretty good physical characteristics.
Suit: Both were pretty Comic Book traditional, though Christophers suit had a pretty large S logo. In both cases (if you look at other photos online) it's pretty evident that they were trying very hard to emphasize the crotch bulge.

Dean Cain
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997)
Actor: Cain had the physique to pull it off, and though it was played a little campy, it wasn't a bad series.
Suit: The VERY oversized S logo, the bar type cape connections, and the obverted V on the patent leather boots, along with the mylar look of the suit makes this one of my least favorite.

Tom Welling
Smallville (2001-2011)
Actor: A good actor in a good series, they had a rule - "No flights, no tights" throughout the series. The focus was the relationship development of Clark and Lex Luthor and the coming of age of Superman on the farm.
Suit: You only got one brief glimpse of the suit in the series finale closing, so it's hard to judge.

Brandon Routh
Superman Returns (2006)
Actor: A good actor, Routh didn't have much to work with in the script. A shoddy movie in my opinion that broke the canon of the virtuous Superman.
Suit: The first iteration of the modern suit, breaking from the comic book tradition. I felt it was too darkly colored, and the 3D S logo doesn't fit with the cloth suit. The S logo on the belt looks redundant. The cape connection at the crew neck top looks unfinished.

Henry Cavill
Man of Steel (2013)
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Justice League (2017)
Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
Actor: Cavill was a great Superman in each of his appearances. A good looking guy with a great physique allowed him to easily make the role believable. He's my third favorite Superman, though I like the films immensely.
Suit: A much better modern take on the modern "body armor" type suit, in both the Man of Steel and Justice League versions. I don't care for the fake abs on the suit, and if you see Cavill without a shirt, it's obvious he doesn't need them.

Tyler Hoechlin
Supergirl, Superman & Lois & The Arrowverse (2016)
Actor: I have not seen this series, but Hoechlin appears capable of taking on the role, though in a swarthy kind of manifestation. He always look like he needs a better razor.
Suit: Don't like it at all. The emphasized cape connection bars, the shield on the front of the boots with the platform heels looks terrible. The Batman style belt, and the ribbing on the sleeves makes it look very cobbled together.

 

[luvmysuper]

Nicolas Cage
Superman Lives (1997) - canceled
Honorable mention.
Actor: Nicholas Cage is a competent actor in his selected genre, but I don't think ANYONE would believe him as Superman. This canceled movie was way out there and it's probably best for everyone that this was never made.
Suit: There were several versions tried in the initial planning stages, and none of them were anything to write home about. The version in the pic looks like his trunks are just a tied down loincloth, and the other "skin" version has a really goofy S logo.
NOTE: This version of Superman (along with many others) was featured in the multi-verse collision in the Flash film.

David Corenswet
Superman Legacy (2025)
This is the newest planned venture written and directed by James Gunn of Guardians of the Galaxy fame. It features David Corenswet as Superman, who looks a little on the young side, but he may be able to pull it off. Things are very hush hush, and they won't release anything besides teasers and glimpses on the suit till principal photography progresses. I like Gunns style in Guardians, so I am hopeful this will be a decent and entertaining reboot, though I must admit that I am very saddened to see Henry Cavill go.

Trailer:

 

[Columbo]

I have a soft spot for the first one, because that’s the one I remember watching most. The B&Ws were a little more sinister and hard edged than the later color ones. And that one had the best Perry White (John Hamilton).

But the first Superman movie I also enjoy, as much for the supporting characters and villains as for Reeve. How could anyone not like Lex Luthor and Otis (Hackman & Beatty), and how they were done, in that one? Big stars Glenn Ford, Jackie Cooper, and even buxom Valerie Perrine, all well placed. Even the early Brando cameo was nicely done. A very well cast movie.

 

[velocityboy]

Christopher Reeve was my original Superman. He set the standard and is still my favorite.

Smallville was awesome and Tom Welling was excellent as Clark Kent.

I almost didn't see Man of Steel after hearing a lot of people didn't like it but after stumbling across this clip on YouTube I decided I needed to watch it. I'm glad I did. It's my favorite Superman movie so far. Henry Cavill was a superb Superman and could easily be my #1. He also has the best suit. Too bad they replaced him.

 

[njpaddy]

George Reeves. I grew up in the 50s with DC Silver-age comics and Superman on TV. I bought Season 1 of the TV series on DVD when it came out in 2006, but never picked up the rest. I did see the first Christopher Reeve Superman movie, but wasn't impressed and haven't seen a superhero movie since. When I have an urge to revisit my Silver-age superheros of the past, I have DC volumes of Flash and Green Lantern, 3 vol of Adam Strange and the Omnibus of Justice League on a bookshelf.

When I left for college in fall of 1964, I boxed up all my DC and EC comics, even some from the Golden Age, along with baseball and other bubble gum cards from the 50s and early 60s and stored them in the basement. When I came home from Christmas they were gone. My mother had thrown everything out.

 

[DesertIguana]

Grew up watch George Reeves in Black n White.

He was best Superman, by today standard the series was bush league.

 

[Texchappy]

Have really liked Cavill and think as of now he’s my #1. Have a soft spot watching George Reeves growing up. Welling and Cain also were great to watch during their televised runs.

 

[Beto Salatini]

George Reeves was my Superman and Noel Neill was my Lois Lane.

 

[luvmysuper]

George Reeves was my Superman and Noel Neill was my Lois Lane.

View attachment 1826061

Noel Niell was Lois Lane in the Kirk Alyn serial Superman. I'm glad they got her into the Reeves series, the gal she replaced was not all that great.
She also had cameo appearances in both the Christopher Reeve Superman movie and in the Brandon Routh Superman Returns.
Superman Returns also had a cameo by Jack Larson who played Jimmy Olsen in the Reeves version. Jack played a bartender.

 

[mcee_sharp]

When I see clips of the Christopher Reeve movies now I'm like "C'mon man! That's obviously Calgary!!"

Aside from Reeve and Cain, I haven't seen any others, so my nod goes to Reeve.

 

[Beto Salatini]

Noel Niell was Lois Lane in the Kirk Alyn serial Superman. I'm glad they got her into the Reeves series, the gal she replaced was not all that great.
She also had cameo appearances in both the Christopher Reeve Superman movie and in the Brandon Routh Superman Returns.
Superman Returns also had a cameo by Jack Larson who played Jimmy Olsen in the Reeves version. Jack played a bartender.

Thank you for the wonderful post, dear friend. By the way, I still dream about Noel Neill's Lois Lane.

 

[luvmysuper]

When I see clips of the Christopher Reeve movies now I'm like "C'mon man! That's obviously Calgary!!"

Aside from Reeve and Cain, I haven't seen any others, so my nod goes to Reeve.

Much like the tale of George Reeves. He had a part in the film "From Here to Eternity" and it was reported that when he appeared on screen, many audience members called out "Superman!".
It was the last major film he appeared in.

 

[mcee_sharp]

Much like the tale of George Reeves. He had a part in the film "From Here to Eternity" and it was reported that when he appeared on screen, many audience members called out "Superman!".
It was the last major film he appeared in.

Just read up on him again, I had forgotten how much controversy surrounded his death

 

[Sideburns]

Noel Niell was Lois Lane in the Kirk Alyn serial Superman.

And she had a cameo in the first movie. There's a scene near the beginning of Supes racing a train, shown from inside the train, as Noel Neil as Lois Lane is working on a story for the Daily Planet. That scene is lifted from the first serial, where it's shown from the outside, with maybe a glimpse of Lois through a window.

 

[Columbo]

Right before (or just as) the Adventures of Superman went on TV, George Reeves was in what might be called the first Superman movie, Superman and the Mole-Men. Hokey by today‘s standards, but fun for early 50’s Saturday kids’ matinees. They eventually worked some of the movie footage into the TV series.

Superman and the Mole-Men (1951) ⭐ 5.5 | Action, Adventure, Drama

58m | Passed

www.imdb.com

 

[ajkel64]

Without a doubt my favourite Superman was George Reeves. Watched him a kid and I couldn’t wait to get home from school to turn the old Black and Television on to watch him as Superman.

 

[borwish]

What? Nobody likes the kid from Brightburn? Just kidding. I know what it is.

 

[JimmyJoeMeeker]

Christopher Reeve first, George Reeves second.

Like most of us, I'm a product of the era I grew up in. Christopher's Superman was contemporary with my childhood. George I caught on syndicated TV.

Because I'm shallow as a puddle, I'll also mention that I always thought they could have done better looks-wise than Margot Kidder. Coates and Neill were both easier on the eyes. And pre-cosmetic-procedure Teri Hatcher was a sight to see.

 

[hairless wonder]

Christopher Reeve is and was my Superman. He captured the goodness and humanity that makes Superman the hero he is. On top of that, he superbly brought out the "aw shucks" humility of both Clark Kent and Superman without going overboard. Then there's also the range of emotions that Reeve managed to portray so well. I mean, when Lois died and Superman cried in anguish, you could really feel the depths of his pain there.

Brandon Routh was a good Superman and I liked him. I think he got short shrift because everyone was measuring him against Christopher Reeve, who epitomized Superman for those of my generation.

Henry Cavill was also a good Superman, but he didn't capture Superman's humanity as well. Then again, the idiotic scripts didn't call for him to show that side of Superman.

Dean Cain made Superman fun and lighthearted and was a great Superman for the 1990s. But Christopher Reeve was just such an iconic Superman that Cain had a difficult row to hoe to establish his own Superman. Still, he did very well and I thoroughly enjoyed The Adventures of Lois and Clark.

I didn't watch the WB Superman shows because I'm just not into melodrama/soap operas all that much and unfortunately the WB insists/insisted on turning their shows into melodramatic soap operas.

I've only seen a couple episodes of the George Reeves Superman TV show, but his Superman was a little too "perfect." By that, I mean that his Superman was practically flawless and had no weaknesses nor foibles. As such, he lacked humanity. It's probably more a reflection of the time in which he lived and the place along the evolution of the superhero, but it just doesn't work for someone who grew up with the Christopher Reeve Superman who wasn't afraid to be vulnerable and who wore his humanity as a badge of honor.

I'm completely unfamiliar with the other Superman portrayals so I can't comment intelligently on them.

But thank you @luvmysuper for this opportunity to reflect a bit on Superman and what makes him so great to me.

 

[JimmyJoeMeeker]

I've only seen a couple episodes of the George Reeves Superman TV show, but his Superman was a little too "perfect." By that, I mean that his Superman was practically flawless and had no weaknesses nor foibles. As such, he lacked humanity. It's probably more a reflection of the time in which he lived and the place along the evolution of the superhero, but it just doesn't work for someone who grew up with the Christopher Reeve Superman who wasn't afraid to be vulnerable and who wore his humanity as a badge of honor.

Very well put.