The Best Superman?

As part of my ongoing "Watch everything I own" project, I've cracked the live action Superman vault and started working my way (chronologically) through the various incarnations of the Big Blue Boyscout. 

Back when I watched the Batman portion of my collection, I did an article that detailed my opinion on which actor best embodied various characters in the Bat-Verse and it seems only fair to do something similar for Superman.  For the moment, Bats and Supes are the only characters with enough versions on film to really do this kind of thing for, since it takes decades to build up the library to the point where you can contrast and compare like this.  Spider-Man is close on their heels but he has a lot more animated film stock than live action, so for now it's still just Batman and Superman.

First, a couple of villains.  Unlike the Batman list, there are only a few "big" Superman villains that have multiple significant incarnations on film.

Lex Luthor.

The BIGGEST, BADDEST, arguably BEST of Superman's villians, he's been a mainstay of Superman films and television shows since the second Superman serial back in the day.  I always like the super-suit wearing anti-Iron Man version but we've almost never seen that version on film.  The Lex Luthor, evil billionaire tycoon is the more used incarnation and has brought us both the best and worst versions of the character over the years.

Michael Rosenbaum.  For live action Lex, the Smallville version is easily my favourite.  Rosenbaum could charm the pants off everyone in Clark's orbit one minute and bring the serious menace to him and his family the next.  There's a moment in the fourth season where the evil Captain Kirk...er...Lex tells Jonathan Kent, "You were right about me all along, Mr. Kent.  I AM the villain of the story!" that sent shivers down my spine.  That Rosenbaum also voices my favourite incarnation of The Flash just goes to show how underrated he is.

Special mention to Clancy Brown who voiced Lex Luthor in Superman - The Animated Series and Justice League.  His uber-deep and rich voice made him a perfect choice for the role.

Further special mention to Jon Cryer who is currently playing Lex on Supergirl.  He's fun AND has used the super suit to give us the anti-Iron Man version as well.

Extra-Special dishonourable mention to Jesse Eisenberg who tried to play Lex in Batman V Superman - The Dawn of Justice.  His whiny, entitled brat made me wish Superman didn't have that pesky "no killing" thing in his code.  Possibly the worst villain in Superman history and THAT is saying something.

General Zod

You gotta go with Terrance Stamp from Superman II.  "Kneel before ZOD!" might feel a bit cheesy when viewed through the 2020 lens but Stamp's Zod really was the first villain that could stand toe to toe with Superman and trade punches with him. 



Ma Kent

Martha Kent has never had a better ambassador than K Callan.  Whether she's slyly commenting on the overt sexuality of Superman's outfit or offering warm, genuine support to Clark as he wrestles with yet another romantic crisis between he and Lois, Callan made us believe that a man who could fly still really needed his Mom.



Pa Kent

John Schnieder.

Former Duke of Hazzard traded the General Lee for a tractor and with grounded, down home wisdom helped guide a teenage Clark Kent through the insanely dangerous territory of High School.  I was sceptical of the casting but over the years, Schnieder's Jonathan Kent became the one that pops into my head when the character is mentioned.

Lana Lang

Not a character we see in every incarnation but a big part of the classic Superman mythology, Lana Lang has rarely gotten her due.  To my mind the only actress who really gave her credibility was Annette O'Toole in Superman III.  The movie is abysmal but O'Toole still manages to rise above the terrible script and give us a great interpretation of Superman's "one that got away." 

O'Toole would later play Ma Kent on Smallville in a nice piece of stunt casting.


Perry White

I think this one is probably the most arguable choice on the list.  A number of great actors have played the Editor of The Daily Planet, from Gary Cooper to Frank Langella.  Of all the Superman characters, Perry White has consistently been portrayed by some of the most talented men in the business.  For me, I love Lane Smith's Southern, Elvis worshipping version.  Heart, humour and homilies from the life of Elvis brought warmth and professionalism to the newsroom and daily lives of the gang.






Jimmy Olsen

Aaron Ashmore from Smallville is the ONLY actor to ever play Jimmy Olsen who actually looks like the character as he appears in the classic version of the Superman comics.  He's also a really great character actor who brought real heart to the character.  Interestingly, his twin brother Shawn Ashmore is the only actor to play a character anyone ever called "Super Boy" in the entire 10 season run of Smallville, even if only in a briefly glimpsed Daily Planet headline.






Lois Lane

I'll probably get letters on this one. 

For me, the best Lois we've seen is Erica Durance.  She plays her smart, sassy and unabashedly sexy.  On top of that, she's one of the few Lois Lane actresses who actually bear a resemblance to the character as she appears in the comics.

Special mention to Phyllis Coates.  She played Lois in the first season of the George Reeves version of Superman, way back in 1952.  For the time, Coates' Lois was VERY progressive and her crisp, tailored version of the intrepid reporter was heads and tails beyond the more one note version we got for the next 5 seasons from Noel Neil.

And no Lois Lane list would be complete without mentioning the stellar work of Dana Delany in Superman - The Animated Series.  Purple eyes, wit sharp enough to draw blood and fearless as only Superman's girlfriend can be, her Lois effortlessly pushed the character out of Superman's shadow.

Extra special non-mention to Kate Bosworth from 2006's Superman Returns.  Her entirely forgettable Lois was a toothless, soft and dull version of a character that even poor actresses have managed to infuse with more flare and strength.  Bosworth has great acting chops but seems to have phoned this one in from start to finish.







Clark Kent

In a way, Clark is a very separate character from his super powered alter ego and the best versions of Superman feature great Clarks Kent. 

George Reeves gave us a strong, capable, slightly smug Clark Kent.  It's no secret that Reeves vastly preferred playing Kent to his alter ego and he always seemed to be having fun when wearing the double breasted suit rather than the super suit.  Most versions of Clark since the 50s, including Dean Cain's and Tom Welling's owe a great deal of their characterizations to Reeves.

Christopher Reeve and Brandon Routh played Clark for more laughs, giving us a Clark very separate and different from his Superman.  The choice Reeve made in doing this has only really been echoed by Routh since.  Personally this is the Clark Kent I picture in my head and while a lot of the 70s era films doesn't hold up, Routh's amazing embodiment of Reeve's version shows that the slightly awkward and goofily earnest Clark Kent has stood the test of time.




Superman

Like Batman before him, it's simply too difficult to pick a single actor to be the "definitive" version of the character.  I'll give you my 3 picks for the men who define Superman for me in three different ways.

The Voice.

The first time Superman leapt off the comic book page into people's homes, it wasn't on film or television.  It was on the radio.  The Superman radio show added several elements to the character's mythology that are still there to this day like Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen and deadly green kryptonite.  Actor Bud Collyer also gave us the iconic higher register Clark Kent and lower register Superman voices.  It was so identifiable with the character that Fleishman studios hired him to voice both characters in their Academy Award nominated 1941 animated short film and the 16 more shorts they made.  He would voice Superman again in 1966 in The New Adventures of Superman for Filmation.  60 years later, Kevin Conroy would create a similar portrayal for his version of Bruce Wayne/Batman for the Fleishman inspired Batman - The Animated Series.

The Look

Henry Cavill.  Plenty of actors have worn the tights and cape but NOBODY looked as powerful and godlike in the suit.  Thanks to Cavill's ridiculously cut physique, 21st Century fabrics and special effects, Cavill's Superman actually looked like a man who could not only fly but do so while carrying an aircraft carrier on his back.  There is plenty of debate in the fan community about Cavill's portrayal for a lot of reasons but I have yet to see anyone complain about how he looks in the outfit.



The Hope

Superman is a lot of things to a lot of people.  One of the most important aspects of the character, more than occasionally forgotten by Hollywood, is the embodiment of the hope and optimism of the human spirit.  He may be an alien, but he's our alien.  The late Christopher Reeve brought that ineffable quality with him when he flew onto the screen and into the hearts of every seven year old in the theater back in the late 70s.  He looked the part, he sounded the part and we really, truly and honestly believed in him. 

The seven year old in me really does still believe a man can fly.

Thank you, Chris.