The new trailer for James Gunn’s 2025 film has put Superman at the forefront of pop culture 86 years after Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created him. Naturally, it has also inspired a lot of discourse about what actor was the best Man of Steel and whether anyone could replace him or not. While there is no wrong answer about which iteration is someone’s favorite version, I am convinced that none of the actors who played Superman did a bad job.

Almost from his inception, animators, filmmakers, radio and television producers knew the Man of Tomorrow was a great character. Few fictional characters have enjoyed such longevity and passion, yet Kal-El’s awesome powers make adapting the character into live action a much more difficult prospect than Sherlock Holmes or Robin Hood. In fact, as beloved as Superman is, almost all of his live-action adaptations have some significant story problems, usually about what he can and can’t do. However, none of these drawbacks come from the performance by the person wearing the cape or shield. Each actor who brought Superman to life put their own stamp on it while making sure he consistently reflected what we all love about him.

The First Actors to Define Superman Are Mostly Forgotten by Fans

From Film Serials to Saturday Morning TV, Kal-El Was Everywhere

The first person to play Superman was Kirk Alyn who starred in two 15-chapter film serials in 1948 and 1950. A precursor to television, most of these adventure stories aged poorly because of blatant racism, sexism and toxic masculinity. Amazingly, Alyn avoided all of that. His Clark Kent was kind, compassionate and humble. Noel Neill played Lois Lane, who was portrayed as courageous, driven and, most importantly, respected. Tommy Bond’s Jimmy Olsen was even clearly her subordinate.

I am old enough to have seen most of the first modern Superman films in theaters, but television is where Kal-El really came to life. Thanks to the forward-thinking producers filming in color, Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves was still in heavy syndication. Like Alyn, Reeves’s Clark Kent reflected none of the shameful societal qualities seen as virtues. One episode involved “monstrous” creatures living under a small town, and Superman defended them. When scared townspeople arm themselves, Superman takes their guns away. There’s also a distinct lack of tobacco use, as common back then as wearing shoes.

George Reeves resented playing Superman for so long because the role typecast him and prevented him from working after it was over.

After the Superman film series stalled, Superboy debuted, a half-hour Saturday morning series. Clark Kent was first played by John Haymes Newton and then by Gerard Christopher. The tiny budget meant the stories were less about Superboy’s powers and more personal. Again, Clark defied many of the toxic characteristics of 1980s heroes. Along with being the first show to make Lex Luthor and Clark childhood frenemies, the series also explored Superboy’s lack of confidence in his ability to be a hero. It humanized Kal-El, making him more relatable.

Christopher Reeve Defined Superman by Taking the Character Seriously

Actor Brandon Routh Was Directed to Evoke His Performance in His Film

Despite all the Superman on television in my youth, like so many Gen Xers and older Millennials, I consider Christopher Reeve my “first Superman.” While the films he starred in had their issues, especially the last two, his performance was so perfect it still defines the character. In the late 1970s, both he and director Richard Donner rejected the campy approach to these admittedly silly characters. They understood they were, in fact, mythical figures, especially Superman. He could subjugate humanity as a god, but instead Kal-El was its servant.

“[Superman represents] a friend, and that’s what people really need most. They don’t need, you know, a strong arm…one vigilante force. You need a friend, and…that’s the heart of Superman: the genuine love of people.” — Christopher Reeve in 1987.

Everything about playing Superman was a risk for Reeve, from realizing the special effects to typecasting. Nonetheless, the Juilliard-trained actor approached the character as seriously as one would Shakespeare. Even the widely-panned Superman IV: The Quest for Peace is elevated by Reeve’s commitment, including its best line of dialogue (which he wrote): “I just wish you could all see the Earth the way that I see it. Because when you really look at it, it’s just one world.” Christopher Reeve made me and everyone else believe a man could be super.

The 2006 reboot film Superman Returns cast Brandon Routh whose resemblance to Reeve was accentuated for the film. While this movie has massive issues narratively, Routh proved he was a worthy successor to the mantle. In fact, he reprised the role for 2019’s Crisis On Infinite Earths miniseries on The CW. Freed of the film’s muddled continuity and questionable story choices, Routh was able to evoke everything great that Reeve brought to the role and elevate it with his own style. These actors’ films are considered classics because of how well they played Superman.

The Vast Majority of Superman Storytelling Outside of Comics Is on TV

Despite Appearing in Different Eras and at Different Ages, Kal-El Is the Same Guy

When the syndicated Superboy series ended, the Man of Tomorrow returned to television the following year on Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Created and run by Deborah Joy Levine, Dean Cain’s version of Superman worked fantastically. The show primarily focused on Lois and romance, but it understood the Man of Steel. In one episode, Clark justifies hiding his true identity by telling Lois he needed to know that plain-old Clark was “enough” for her to love. In another episode, Lois takes on his powers and learns their burdens, like hearing those pleading for Superman’s help who he can’t save.

Live-Action Superman TV Series Through History

The Adventures of Superman – 1952-1958
Superboy – 1988-1992
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Smallville – 2001-2011
Superman & Lois – 2021 – 2024

In 2001, Smallville completely reinvented Superman lore with a story focused on the years before Clark Kent became Superman. While it has more regrettable contemporaneous TV conventions than its 1990s predecessor, actor Tom Welling excelled as the Boy of Steel. He was able to portray Clark as an authentic teenager, mistakes and all, while still maintaining the essence of the character. Whether as Clark, Superboy or Superman, Kal-El is a good person, free of judgment, ego and petty jealousy.

Superman’s return to television in the 21st century came via Supergirl when Tyler Hoechlin was cast as Kara’s famous cousin. The balance he struck between a veteran Superman who made people feel safe and a soft-spoken, kind Clark Kent seemed effortless. His show, Superman & Lois, made its central characters parents of two teenagers. Though Clark struggled to be Earth’s greatest hero and a good father, he never let anyone (especially the audience) down. Even in moments of anger or fear (especially fearing for his children’s lives), he always felt like the Superman I and generations of kids grew up with.

Henry Cavill Doesn’t Deserve the Controversy He Faced While Playing Superman

From Questionable Direction to Executive Mismanagement, His Kal-El Rose Above It All

Just one look at social media shows the most controversial version of Superman was the one portrayed by Henry Cavill. A lifelong fan of the character, he auditioned twice before for both an unproduced reboot and Superman Returns. Any problems fans may have after he finally won the role aren’t because of his performance. Director Zack Snyder created a “post-9/11” Superman story, and Cavill’s Kal-El lived in a world that didn’t want him. Eight decades in, I appreciate that Snyder tried to do something new. With humanity either worshipping him or fearing him, I think any Kal-El would respond to that by keeping his distance.

Before his accident, I longed for Christopher Reeve to get a redemptive return in a new film. I empathize with fans who lament Henry Cavill’s departure, because no other actor can be their childhood Superman. In fact, Cavill yearned to play a more traditional Superman in a hopeful story more accessible to kids. Both he and Snyder were mistreated by Warner Bros. executives, cutting short a larger plan that likely would’ve ended with Cavill eventually embodying the Man of Tomorrow. Thoe, one small positive side of this is the whole “Knightmare” reality is now just the unfounded fears of characters who didn’t trust Superman’s innate goodness.

Any controversy over Cavill’s Superman is down to problems with the storytelling, something even Christopher Reeve dealt with. Still, after nearly 80 years appearing in live action, I firmly believe not one actor has been a “bad” Superman. David Corenswet’s Superman performance should continue the improbable string of good luck fans have with Superman actors. All we have to do is keep looking up.

James Gunn’s Superman debuts in theaters July 11, 2025, while most Superman films and series stream on Max.