Favorite Superman

[Preus]

Mine is Brandon Routh followed by Christopher Reeve.

[MaxofSteel]

I'm with Routh, but I feel that he hasn't really gotten his chance to shine among the other Supes yet.

[Preus]

He did good but he should've had more lines in SR to further enhance his perfromance.

[Samurai]

You forgot Tom Welling... he gets my vote.

[Preus]

Tom Welling doesn't portray Superman, he's Clark Kent. There's a difference.

[alovelyfeeling]

Christopher Reeve but thought i havent seen much from the other Supermans...

[dancj]

It warms my heart and reaffirms my faith in humankind that Dean Cain's smug Superman has no votes

[666MasterOfPuppets]

I lean slightly more towards Reeve. Routh is a close second.

[Your Imaginary Pal]

Christopher Reeve is the definitive Superman, for me the first Superman film he was in came out when I was a year old. The last one came out when I was 9 or 10. There have been several TV series to come out since, but none of them had the charm of Reeve's superman. They all fell very short of the mark, some of it may have been because of the writers, not the actors themselves, but they didn't come across as...well, Super.

[karasu]

I don't really like any of those interpretations. Dean Cain had a great Clark, but a really fruity Superman. Christopher Reeve did what he did perfectly, but that Superman is a little too cheesy and boy scout like for me. Brandon Routh was a blank slate, but if the sun hit him right he looked like Christopher Reeve. George Reeves was faster than a flying revolver, boring. So I'll say what I always say, the comic! I think I have somekind of mental block that prevents me from accepting live actors as Superman or something.

[Preus]

I didn't see Chris Reeve's Superman as being too cheesy, his interpretation was very close to the comics, as is Routh's. Well, at least that's what I think.

[brundlefly]

It warms my heart and reaffirms my faith in humankind that Dean Cain's smug Superman has no votes

Mine, too. :D What a tool.

Another vote for Reeve, as he's the definitive cinema Superman for me. His Clark was a little too bumbling, though, which is the area that I think Routh will have an advantage in as he takes over the mantle of Superman for the movies. I thought Routh was better as Clark than as Superman in SR and that his Clark was better than Reeve's. Routh is my second pick, as he had an impressive debut, but Reeve has yet to be surpassed as the far as playing Superman is concerned.

[Blake Petit]

I thought Routh did a good job, and Reeves is a classic. But Christopher Reeve was DEFINITIVE.

(Dean Cain doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath with these other men.)

[Powerboy]

It warms my heart and reaffirms my faith in humankind that Dean Cain's smug Superman has no votes

I'm going to assume that the reason Kirk Alyn got no votes is either because nobody has seen him as Superman OR because they simply think Chris Reeve was definitive. We should also have a rating of the actors who have played Superman from number one to number whatever. As opposed to Alyn who got no votes just because we haven't seen him, Cain got no votes because we have.

I am currently collecting the seasons of "Adventures of Superman" the tv series from the 1950s. George Reeves is the oldest actor to ever portray Superman in live-action. He was 37 when he played Superman for the first time and 42 or 43 when his last episode was filmed. Discounting Alyn whose Superman serials I have not yet seen, he seemed the most "man" of the Superman portrayals. What I mean is that, although I think Christopher Reeve's portrayal was definitive, he had the advantage of a multi-million dollar budget and there just seemed something slightly preppy or pretty boy about him at that age. Brandon Routh projects those qualities even more. I thought he did a great job of acting as did Reeve, mind you. Dean Cain was the worst though. Unlike all the others, there was nothing about him that made me feel like I was seeing Superman. When I watched the show, it was for Lois Lane. Losi and Perry White were well portrayed.

I found George Reeves' portrayal of Superman to be a strong, confident, forceful Superman who knows and accepts what he is along with all the limitations on his life that who he is causes without whining about it endlessly. In effect, I find him to be a somewhat older Superman more settled into who he is. An actor of similar age should have portayed him in the movie considering that it was a sequel to the Reeve movies and he's been Superman for a few years.

For me its a toss-up between Reeves and Reeve. Routh was okay but neither he or Caine are even close to George and Christopher.

[Preus]

I think Routh has done a great job so far & I stand by my statement in which I believe Routh is a better Superman than Reeves & all the others to portray Superman.

[Castaway]

I grew up on Reeves, but really bought Routh as the MAN of Steel... honestly the movie grows more enjoyable with each viewing. Unfortunately, when I ask my students how they liked it (I teach middle school), they didn't even bother to see it, or were bored by it...

[Preus]

They probably were bored by it because it didn't have too much action. Some kids don't know how to enjoy a movie with an actual story.

[Powerboy]

They probably were bored by it because it didn't have too much action. Some kids don't know how to enjoy a movie with an actual story.

I liked "Superman Returns". I think it was gutsy. It was willing to make Superman a little more a real person with a few faults and that is a big risk with an icon. The only objection I had to Brandon Routh and Kate Bosworth are their ages. Not believable if this is a sequel to the Reeve movies, the events therein supposedly having happened six years ago. But I can easily brush that off. I liked it. I liked the whole "son becomes the father" angle with Superman saying the same things to his son that Jor-El said to him. They obviously realized that, in the aftermath of Spider-Man, a super hero story needs to move forwards. The one mistake of Superman II was Lois losing her memory of Clark being Superman because of that new mindwipe power he suddenly developed out of nowhere and hitting the restart button.

Ironically, as I have been watching the episodes of the old 1950s Superman tv show, I want to apply the same thing you said about "Superman Returns". "They probably were bored by it because it didn't have too much action. Some kids don't know how to enjoy a movie with an actual story."
Though the 1950s show was very two-dimensional by our standards, I think each Superman can only be fairly judged in the context of its time. The Routh Superman would have crashed and burned like a train wreck in 1951 every bit as much as the George Reeves Superman could never make it successfully on the air today. But the 1950s show does share things in common with the movie. Many of the episodes (especially in the early seasons) had intricate plots that were very clever. Yet what I mostly read here is that the special effects were boring and there weren't any big super fights. True enough but I like that old style presentation of Superman, not quite as gritty as the Golden Age in the comics but yet not quite as silly as the Silver Age.

[Frankie Dennis]

George's Superman was very hot tempered, and often beat the crap out of every criminal he came into contact with. Yet, deep down you knew he was a good guy.

Chris's Superman rarely used excessive force, and always tried to be a role model to everybody.

I'm going to go with Chris.

[Augusto]

Christopher Reeve. He's the one and only Superman.
http://www.cineybso.com/fotos%20noticias/fallece%20christopher%20reeve/superman.jpg
http://www.yelims.com/IPB/Invision-Board-France-234.gif

[The Joker]

Reeve, then Reeves.

[Solaris01]

I like all of them, but Dean Cain.

My favorites are Chris and Brandon. They both work perfectly for me. But if I absolutely have to choose, I choose Brandon. I loved his strong and silent Superman. He looked so majestic, godly, and so real and human at the same time. When he is walking in New Krypton, he is Superman in the flesh for me, for instance. He just gives me things that not even Chris gives me in his movies. But I love them both. They both fulfill my fantasy of what Superman should be, and the way I envision this wonderful character.

[Augusto]

Reeve, then Reeves.

Christopher, then George...:biggrin:

http://www.yelims.com/IPB/Invision-Board-France-234.gif

[jeangreydp]

I chose Dean Cain mostly because he is 'my' generation's Superman. So, I feel attached to him even though I think that Christopher Reeves did a better job.

I feel that I should say though, I've never seen an actor portray Superman the way I would like. So, really there has been nobody! womp womp

[BoosterBronze]

I'm going to assume that the reason Kirk Alyn got no votes is either because nobody has seen him as Superman OR because they simply think Chris Reeve was definitive. We should also have a rating of the actors who have played Superman from number one to number whatever. As opposed to Alyn who got no votes just because we haven't seen him, Cain got no votes because we have.


I've seen all of the Alyn serials. I'm not impressed. He has poor physical presence (he prances when he runs) and his Superman seems confused most of the time (something in the eyes).

Frankly, I liked Dean Cain, although Reeve got my vote.

[pitbull in a skirt]

Reeve.

Dean made a better Clark Kent and his Superman was borderline terrible. But thankfully, his Superman side was really seen less and wasn't the main focus of the show to begin with.

But who looks the most like the comic book character? Dean.

[elise]

Christopher Reeve. He's the one and only Superman.

Amen to that. No one else even comes close, and probably no one ever will.

[dancj]

Reeve. Dean made a better Clark Kent and his Superman was borderline terrible. But thankfully, his Superman side was really seen less and wasn't the main focus of the show to begin with.

But who looks the most like the comic book character? Dean.
I thought Dean Cain made too smug a Clark Kent and looked nothing like the character.

[stelok]

George Reeves

[pitbull in a skirt]

I thought Dean Cain made too smug a Clark Kent and looked nothing like the character.

Hmmm...different strokes for different folks?

[datriadx18]

i chose christopher reeves, cuz he was the Superman I grew up watching. He's the standard I use to judge what superman should look like.
Brandon Routh is alright, but I think he spent too much time mirroring Reeve that we didnt get to see him shine. I really loved his strong but silent presence though, as he looked 'Super' but was also a 'man'. Hopefully he'll grow into the role.
I personally do NOT Dean Cain as superman. He just never did it for me... for reasons I cannot completely understand. Maybe it was his bitch voice

[pitbull in a skirt]

His bitch voice?

edit. I think he improved immensely as an actor in regards to his voice pitch. Too bad he didn't 10+ years ago.

[tereaa]

i like George Reeves ,he has power,and he is handsome

[Bat-Reader]

Christopher Reeve hands down.

[666MasterOfPuppets]

Chris will always be the best. In second place is Brandon (IMO).

[joe the baker]

Christopher Reeve is widely synonomous with his Superman portrayal. He was as close to perfect as anyone could wish for, He definetly gets may vote. As for Kirk was he not the one where every time Superman flew an animated picture took over the screen?
Dean Cain gets a bit of a rough ride here. He was excellent as Clark and in the pilot episode he made a pretty decent Superman also. However from the second epsiode on the producers changed the design of the costume and it came across as very camp. Whether Dean was told to "ham it up" from that moment on who knows but he never recaptured the glory of the pilot episode.

[Animation]

Tom Welling. I dont care if he hasnt called himself Superman yet. He is still the best to me.

Lewis

[reta-winter soldier]

I did not see alyn but I pretty much have liked every superman( including smallville, wellings been acceptable to good in all seasons) except routh I hate that movie so much it didnt exist to me. but chris is impossible to beat, HE IS SUPERMAN