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Definitive Cinematic Superman

Started by Tomato, November 20, 2016, 04:30:17 PM

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 Which version was the most definitive Superman?

Ray Middleton (1940 World's Fair)
0 (0%)
Kirk Alyn (1948 serial)
0 (0%)
George Reeves (1951 Adventures of Superman)
2 (13.3%)
Bob Holiday (1966 Superman Stage Play)
0 (0%)
David Wilson (1975 Superman Musical)
0 (0%)
Christopher Reeve (1978 Superman Film)
11 (73.3%)
John Haymes Newton (1988 The Adventures of Superboy)
0 (0%)
Gerard Christopher (1989 The Adventures of Superboy)
0 (0%)
Dean Cain (1993 Lois and Clark)
1 (6.7%)
Tom Welling (2001 Smallville)
0 (0%)
Brandon Routh (2006 Superman Returns)
0 (0%)
Henry Cavil (2013 Man of Steel)
1 (6.7%)
Tyler Hoechlin (2016 Supergirl)
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 15

Tomato

Well boys and girls, it's been a week now, so I figure it's about time I rolled out the next "Definite Cinematic" Poll for you guys. Given the Man of Steel's legacy on the world and on pop culture, I wanted to make this list a bit more comprehensive than normal... not just the actors from TV or from the Movies, but also the first actors who brought the character to life in other forms of Physical Media. To that end, I went ahead and enlisted Daglob's help on this one. I am still glossing over a LOT of actors (there are a LOT of commercials and unaired pilots)

Ray Middleton (1940 World's Fair)

Kirk Alyn (1948 serial)

George Reeves (1951 Adventures of Superman)

Bob Holiday (1966 Superman Stage Play)

David Wilson (1975 Superman Musical)

Christopher Reeve (1978 Superman film)

John Haymes Newton (1988 The Adventures of Superboy)

Gerard Christopher (1989 The Adventures of Superboy)

Dean Cain (1993 Lois and Clark)

Tom Welling (2001 Smallville)

Brandon Routh (2006 Superman Returns)

Henry Cavil (2013 Man of Steel)

Tyler Hoechlin (2016 Supergirl)


Glitch Girl

You skipped Christopher Reeve in your poll options.
-Glitch Girl

"Cynicism is not maturity, do not mistake the one for the other. If you truly cannot accept a story where someone does the right thing because it's the right thing to do, that says far more about who you are than these characters." - Greg Rucka

Tomato

Dangit past me!

It's fixed now. Sorry about that, I must have just assumed it was already in there when I was going down the list. I reset the poll as well, because otherwise the results would have gotten a bit garbled.

Podmark

So are we talking outfit or actor or the whole package?

Either way I think I have to answer Christopher Reeve. Of the actors I've seen he best fits the model of Superman to me. The suit is pitch perfect, although today it looks like a Halloween costume.

I'm not familiar with most of the older Supermen.
I really enjoyed Welling in Smallville but he played a very specific version of the character, hard to count him.
Routh seemed a lot like a Reeve stand in, but I did like some of the modernisations to his suit but the whole design is kinda lacking.
Cavil hasn't really had a chance to play a proper Superman, but he does benefit with the high budget suit they just haven't nailed the design yet.
I really enjoyed Hoechlin in his two episodes of Supergirl, but his outfit is off.

To be honest there isn't a live action Supes I'd swear by though. Although that's true for most live action super heroes.
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daglob

I grew up on George Reeves. Seems like his show was still shown someplace throughout the '60s.

I'd put Chris Reeve at #2, and Kirk Alyn at #3.

And there is Ray Middleton's Halloween costume that is simply funny.

Cyber Burn

#1 - Christopher Reeve, hands down. For me, he was my first exposure to a live action Superman.

#2 - George Reeves, I grew up on the reruns, and really grew to enjoy the character.

#3 - I know I'll be in the minority here, but I'm putting Henry Cavill in this slot. This is a different era than what I grew up in, and a different Superman is needed. So far, Cavill seems to be fitting that role, and I think he has the potential to take the character to a higher level...If he's given the right material to work with.

Tomato

Man Cyber, you think you're in the minority... my main choice hasn't even been mentioned yet >P.

I know I'm on the lunatic fringe, but my choice for the definitive Superman in media is Dean Cain. Yeah the series is cheesy and lasted long enough that the momentum it had crashed and burned... but I've got the first season on DVD, and it's still a solid watch for tv from that era. I like the portrayal of Clark Kent, especially early on... where the Clark Kent in, say, Christopher Reeve's take was two steps away from a cartoon character, bumbling his way around the Daily Planet offices and wondering why Lois loved Superman instead, Lois and Clark goes out of it's way to make CLARK KENT a legitimate character. Unlike almost every other interpretation, where Clark becoming a reporter is hand waved based on his incredible typing speed, or because Lois threw weight around for him (>.> MoS) in Lois and Clark, he EARNS the job, both in terms of his resume, and by providing a well written article to Perry demonstrating both his talent and his personality. And in terms of just his costume... again nostalgia glasses here, but I just love the colors and designs they used. The blue on Reeve's suit looked a little faded, but Cain's dark shiny blue just pops.

My second choice of Definitive is... yeah, Christopher Reeve. If you think of Superman in film, he IS Superman. He set the standard for the character's look, his personality, his bearing, everything.

My third choice (another upset) is Hoechlin. Mainly because, of all the "modern" Supermen, he feels like a return to the old. If we HAVE to go with a N52 style no underoos Superman, that's the way to do it. The belt helps break up the blue of the suit, there's still enough gold in there to balance the yellow of the shield, and I like the cape attachments. It also isn't trying to do the Faux-armor thing that never made any sense in the new 52 or MoS... he's Superman, why does he need armor? Add to that the fact that in 30 seconds Hoechlin proved to be a better Superman than Cavil did in two movies (granted, I attribute that to Snyder, but still) and... yeah.

Ouflah

#7
I love Superman as a character, and for me Christopher Reeve is the gold standard that every other Superman should try to emulate. After that is George Reeves, he was great. My third one is a little tough-- I remember liking Dean Cain's Superman a lot, but to be honest this new Hoechlin Superman seems to hit the nail on the head. I watched Lois and Clark so long ago that I think I'd have to watch one of the episodes recently in order to get a feel for that character again. Until I do that I'd say it's a toss-up between the two.

EDIT: I might add that Brandon Routh is also highly competitive for the third slot, but sadly the costume they gave him is somewhat damaging. A small, 3-dimensional logo coupled with maroon-ish red just weakens the Superman-y-ness of that character. Plus, his briefs are too low on the waist.
"Superhero deaths are basically an unproven hypothesis at this point."
-Mike Exner III

Podmark

Sadly I didn't see much of Lois and Clark, so I couldn't really give Cain a fair shake.
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