Thoughts on different incarnations of Superman

I just finished watching Zach Snyder's Justice League. It was definitely an improvement on the first version, and I sort of liked it, though it had way too little screen time for Superman. 

I'm still intensely against the "evil Superman" direction that the DCEU is (or was?) headed, but watching this movie kind of reawakened my old love for the character. It's been a while since I was active in this fandom. 10 years if you go by my post history here. And what's currently on my mind is: I don't actually have a favourite version of Superman. 

Here's a bit of a summary of my feelings on the various incarnations that I've seen so far:

Superman: The Movie (Christopher Reeve)

I've never been a fan of these films, or this version of Superman. It's been ages since I watched Superman 1 and 2, so my opinion here is based on some vague memories. But this version never clicked for me. It's too old school for me I think. I think the main issue I have might be the "oh golly miss Lane" bumbling persona for Clark. I'm also not a fan of the old style suit with the trunks, and I didn't like the odd powers he had, like rewinding time, erasing memories etc. 

Lois & Clark (Dean Cain)

I think this version might have been my first Superman, and this show was definitely what kickstarted my love for the character. I first watched this when it was airing on TV in the late 90's. This show did a great job making Clark and Superman look like different people, which is a huge plus, and the chemistry between the leads was great. 

Looking back on it today, it sucks a bit that the special effects were so poor. It was also very heavy on the romance between Lois and Clark. I'm a bit hard to please there, I guess. I like a happy medium between action and relationship stuff. This show wasn't really "epic" enough, and didn't have enough displays of Superman's powers, which is a huge part of the appeal of the character to me. Great Clark Kent, not so great Superman. Same point about the suit from above also applies here.

Smallville (Tom Welling)

I was a big fan of Smallville during its entire run from 2001 to 2011. But I rewatched it recently, and it wasn't quite as enjoyable today. This isn't really a Superman show. In my mind it's about a parallel reality Clark Kent. 

The problem with Smallville was that it marketed itself as a "before he becomes Superman" show, and then it went on for 10 seasons. You can't do a "before they become X" show for that long. The writers had to introduce more and more of the Superman supporting characters and villains, but still not fully make him Superman. Since the start of the show they had also insisted on "no tights, no flights", and even had Clark make little sarcastic comments about "not seeing myself going into battle with that on my chest" etc. Because of that it just didn't feel natural that this Clark Kent would one day decide that spandex is the way to go. In my opinion, the only way the Superman costume (and Superman name) works, and feels natural, is if it's introduced very early in the story. Then you don't really question the silliness of it.

I found the finale episode over the top cheesy on rewatch, and thought it really clashed with the style of the rest of the show. I feel like this show would have worked a lot better if they had  just given him a completely different story. But that's just me. If they'd gone that route they would have probably pissed off some other fans. Or just finished the show after 4 seasons or so.

Mostly, this show suffered from "will they won't they" drama between Clark and Lana and overuse of kryptonite. I loved it to bits when it was still airing though. Loved the powers, Tom Welling, the actress who played Lois, loved the moments where he finally revealed his secret to people. But again, this isn't a proper Superman show. Not really.

Superman Returns (Brandon Routh)

Another one that I loved back when it came out, but there's so many things to pick apart about it now. Brandon Routh looked great as Superman, but I hated the way his hair was styled. I wasn't a fan of this being a sort-of-sequel to the Christopher Reeve films, which I as mentioned above, I don't have any warm fuzzy nostalgic feelings about. Not a fan of the way his suit looked either. I loved the plane rescue scene, the ship rescue, the way they did the special effects for his powers. The "never throws a punch" thing didn't really cross my mind at the time, but I kind of see what people mean when they complain about it now. Another huge issue I had with this film was the love triangle with Richard, Lois and Superman. It was really distracting. In all, this movie was too "quiet", too hung up on the past, and wasn't nearly epic enough.

DCEU: Man of Steel, BvS and Justice League (Henry Cavill)

I have a love-hate relationship with these films. On the positive side, everything looks gorgeous. The suit, the visuals, the effects, Henry Cavill. The music is fantastic, there are plenty of amazing epic Superman moments, he looks great when he flies, etc. Looks-wise, this might be my favourite Superman. But I can't stand the mood in these films, or the direction the plot was headed. There's way too much focus on Superman as a godlike, "messiah" like figure. It's intensely bleak and depressing. That is not the kind of Superman story I want to watch or read. It doesn't have to be all sunshine and rainbows, but I definitely don't want this. Clark is also seriously lacking a personality and motivations. 

Birthright (comic)

I enjoyed the start of this comic, but not so much the end. I love how we get to see Clark's character fleshed out a bit more. It explores his life before the rest of the plot gets started, which I feel like many Superman stories skip over. I like to see how he travels and gets to experience more of the world, and it even shows him working as a journalist before The Planet. Loved the bit with the family disagreement with Jonathan. And the full page where he happily flies in Africa is amazing. But I wasn't a fan of the plot that followed, and the art style was kind of awkward.

Man of Steel (comic)

The "Man of Steel" comics were too 90's for me (or is it 80's), but I really liked that Clark is the real persona here. I think this may have been the first time this change to Superman was made? I have volume 1-5, but I started losing interest quickly, and never actually got to the Death of Superman storyline. 

All-star Superman (comic)

It's been a while since I read this comic, so I don't remember that much. I have seen that lots of people list this as "the best Superman story ever made", but this was yet another fan favourite that never clicked for me. I wasn't a huge fan of the way Superman looks, and Clark is once again awkward and bumbling. It did a great job of making Clark and Superman believably different, but still. I don't like it. I think it was a bit too eccentric for me.

Secret identity (comic)

This is a great alternate reality standalone comic. It's about about a kid in the "real world" (where Superman is a comic) who's called Clark Kent, and has had to live with lots of Superman jokes his whole life. One morning he wakes up and has all of Superman's powers. This comic is an absolute gem. Amazing artwork, great story, and I highly recommend it. Sadly, this isn't a "real" Superman story, so doesn't count.

Superman and Justice League animated series

Superman has some great moments in Superman the animated series, and in the following series Justice League and Justice League unlimited. But I think these are a bit too "aimed at kids" to fully work for me, and it's missing the last bit of "oomph". It's also been some years since I watched these, so I can't really comment in any more detail. Should definitely rewatch this and see if I've changed my mind.

Legion of Superheroes animated series

I also really liked this many years ago, and it had some nice Superman moments. But again, it's for kids, so it doesn't really have the right level of depth.

Superman & Lois (Tyler Hoechlin)

There's a new show out now, called Superman & Lois, which is about a Superman who's already been around for years, and has two sons with Lois Lane. I've only seen a couple of episodes so far. It's very relationship focused, but it still manages to fit in some epic Superman moments. I'm actually amazed by the special effects in this. Their sons are a bit whiny, I'm not too keen on the unshaven look for Superman, and maybe the actor is a tad too "skinny" to play Superman for my tastes. But man – it's so nice to see new Superman content that feels this fresh and positive! I loved several bits so far. The bit where he hears something far away, pauses and zones out, then the quick disappearance, the flight lifting the car to tell his sons that he's Superman... I'm also a huge fan of Clark being a huge doofus, which is much more likeable than the "aw golly" persona. I'm not willing to say that the show's actually "really good" yet, but it's really, really decent. It feels sort of like a good fanfiction. Looking forward to seeing more of this.