Who did the Christopher Reeve Superman more closely resemble?

[Buried Alien]

When the first SUPERMAN movie was made, DC Comics was still years away from the continuity reboot and revamp of Superman that followed CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. That being said, many of the ideas introduced in the SUPERMAN movies starring Christopher Reeve inspired John Byrne when the latter "reinvented" Superman in 1986. Overall, then, does the Christopher Reeve Superman have more in common with the Pre-COIE Superman (Earth-One version) or the current, Post-COIE Superman?


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[666MasterOfPuppets]

Damn.

Tough thing to say, but in the looks department, you just can't choose. Superman's look is timeless (except for Superman Blue/Red and the Super mullet). In the story and character personality, I'd say the Byrne/current age.

[Forsaken_One]

Didn't some artists start drawing Superman in the comics based on Reeve for a bit?

[Buried Alien]

Didn't some artists start drawing Superman in the comics based on Reeve for a bit?

Pretty much all the illustrators who drew Superman after 1978, with the exception of Curt Swan (who kept his classic Silver Age look), seemed to use the Reeve version as their inspiration...*especially* John Byrne (who openly admitted as much).


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[Rik Levins]

Curt Swan didn't have to change a thing.

I remember seeing the trailer for the Superman movie back when it first came out...1978? 79? In those pre-Internet days, I didn't even know there was a Superman movie in the works. The trailer closed with a closeup of Reeve's face. I had already been a fan of Supes in general and Swan's art in particular for years, and the first thing that went through my mind was, "My God, that man looks exactly like a Curt Swan drawing come to life"!

[JulianPerez]

The Superman that Christopher Reeve most was similar to was the Pre-Reboot Superman. I'm not just saying that because I do loathe the character's apocryphal post-"Byrned" variation, however, but for one simple reason:

Superman's mom was a big deal in the movies.

Watch the sequence where Krypton is about to blow up. Marlon Brando got paid a ton of bread for reading lines off a baby's diaper. But it was not he that made these scenes work (to be honest, Brando was sleepwalking in this role), it was the incredible and talented Susanna York playing Superman's mother that gave all of these scenes their poignancy and emotional impact. Watch her mutter sadly, "he'll be different. A freak." As she coos with eyes wet over her child.

By the time SUPERMAN II came around, whether because they weren't willing to pony up the cash for Brando's mug, or perhaps because the director realized how extraordinary Mrs. York's contribution was, it was she that was the sole advising parent.

Cap'n Johnny Redbeard, however, ever the misogynist, reduced Lara's role in the Super-Mythos to being a negligible one. Here in the movie, she was the one that made these scenes work, the dominant of the two.

[Captain Jim]

Curt Swan didn't have to change a thing.

I remember seeing the trailer for the Superman movie back when it first came out...1978? 79? In those pre-Internet days, I didn't even know there was a Superman movie in the works. The trailer closed with a closeup of Reeve's face. I had already been a fan of Supes in general and Swan's art in particular for years, and the first thing that went through my mind was, "My God, that man looks exactly like a Curt Swan drawing come to life"!

I remember DC actually making that very comment in the months before the Superman movie premiered: "Christopher Reeve looks like he was drawn by Curt Swan."

[666MasterOfPuppets]

By the time SUPERMAN II came around, whether because they weren't willing to pony up the cash for Brando's mug, or perhaps because the director realized how extraordinary Mrs. York's contribution was, it was she that was the sole advising parent.

Superman and Superman II were being filmed simultaneously. In fact, there were scenes for Superman II with Marlon Brando. The thing is, when Richard Donner was dumped by the Salkinds (allegedly because of the continuous delays, and actually because they were - and still are - stupids), and Richard Lester came aboard, he ordered these scenes to be dumped. Lester didn't want any signs of Donner's work in the movie.

[Bicycle-Repairman]

Superman and Superman II were being filmed simultaneously. In fact, there were scenes for Superman II with Marlon Brando. The thing is, when Richard Donner was dumped by the Salkinds (allegedly because of the continuous delays, and actually because they were - and still are - stupids), and Richard Lester came aboard, he ordered these scenes to be dumped. Lester didn't want any signs of Donner's work in the movie.

I heard a different take on the affair. Brando's scenes from Superman II were ordered cut by the Salkinds after the actor sued the producers for a percentage of the films' profits (Richard Donner, Mario Puzo, and Margot Kidder also complained of not being fully paid for their work). Rumour has it that the unused footage of Brando may be used in Superman Returns or a special edition dvd of Superman II. The Salkinds had Lester reshoot other completed scenes to make the film more campy and avoid giving Donner credit as director of Superman II.

[PatrickG]

I heard a different take on the affair. Brando's scenes from Superman II were ordered cut by the Salkinds after the actor sued the producers for a percentage of the films' profits (Richard Donner, Mario Puzo, and Margot Kidder also complained of not being fully paid for their work). Rumour has it that the unused footage of Brando may be used in Superman Returns or a special edition dvd of Superman II. The Salkinds had Lester reshoot other completed scenes to make the film more campy and avoid giving Donner credit as director of Superman II.

In fact, Gene Hackman refused to work with Lester.

So all of his ACTUAL scenes are from Donner's cut.

However, Lester did use a body double and a voice impersonator to replace Gene Hackman for the scenes he shot.

[666MasterOfPuppets]

I heard a different take on the affair. Brando's scenes from Superman II were ordered cut by the Salkinds after the actor sued the producers for a percentage of the films' profits (Richard Donner, Mario Puzo, and Margot Kidder also complained of not being fully paid for their work). Rumour has it that the unused footage of Brando may be used in Superman Returns or a special edition dvd of Superman II. The Salkinds had Lester reshoot other completed scenes to make the film more campy and avoid giving Donner credit as director of Superman II.

This I hadn't heard (or hadn't I?). I'll have to watch my Superman: The Movie special edition DVD again, to see if any light is shed on the subject.

[666MasterOfPuppets]

Of course, some of those scenes will be used in Superman Returns. I don't know whether or not the same scenes will be included in the Superman II special edition DVD, though.