Many versions of Superman — From 1939 to Present
There are more movies made on superman then on any other hero. The Legendary Kryptonian saw many actors slip into the blue tighties and donning the red cape that simply signified hope and justice. Superman came into being in the early 1930’s when teenagers, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster put together the story on paper, although, the first edition that they made had superman as a villain. The first edition of superman was called as “The Reign of Superman”. These teenagers were very focused to work things out and make their brainchild project into a reality. The initial version had superman being the villain which felt wrong to the creator so they redid the story and made him into an Iconic superhero which he is as of today.
It seems like superman never really had a steady start and it is still the case today. So far only 16 people have been lucky enough to meet the requirements of being able to play the role of the Last remaining son of Krypton.
1. Ray Middleton (1939)
First actor to play the role of Superman. He played this role on New York World’s day which was celebrated on June 3 1939.
2. Krik Alyn (1948)
Kirk Alyn was the first actor to have played the role on screen in a 15 episode long TV series. He later reprised the role in another TV series known as Superman vs Atom man where he fought his arch rival Lex Luthor.
3. George Reeves (1965)
He was the first actor to have featured both in a theatrical movie and a television series that stretched across 6 seasons.
4. Bob Holiday (1966)
This was a rather unique kind of Superman which was portrayed by bob holiday in a Broadway show, where in place of fighting crime this Superman danced.
5. David Wilson (1975)
Although the Broadway version of Superman didn’t run for long but the producers felt like bringing that superman back only this time David Wilson was to play the role of the hero. This was arguably the worst superman of all times and it failed miserably.
6. Christopher Reeves (1978)
Superman — the movie was made back in 1973 but didn’t saw its release anytime soon. It was only in 1978 when the movie was given the chance to be showcased, it did what was expected of it and was an instant hit. Its first two versions were successful but the 3rd and 4th version were only able to make little profits.
7. Tayfun Demir (1979)
This adaptation of Superman wasn’t authorized by DC but was made regardless of worrying about the legal ramification. Tayfun Demir played the role of superman in a flick called “The Return of Superman”.
8. Hayes Newton (1988)
Hayes donned the cape of the superhero to put up a performance that took the audience on a trip through the teenage of Superman. Although he only wore the robes for one season.
9. Gerard Christopher (1989)
Gerard replaced Haynes in the second season of the Superman, which was then retitled to Adventures of Superboy in Season 3.
10. Dean Cain (1993)
Warner Bros actually had plans with the previous version of Superman which was based on his teenage years. They connected the dots and spawned a new TV show of Superman which was called as Lois & Clark: New Adventure of Superman.
11. Tim daly (1996)
Tim daly actually never wore the costume of the mighty Kryptonian but he did the voice of the superhero for the animated series of Superman. Which had more than 54 episodes and was extremely successful.
12. Tom welling (2001)
He played a rather unique version of Superman, who was never referred to as Superman but was known more as Clark Kent. Although he possessed the same power and the same side characters, he never wore the legendary costume.
13. Brendon Routh (2006)
Brandon Routh starred in the Movie that deemed the return of the icon to the big screen, as in the midst, Superman had only been played on smaller screens and in animated shows.
14. Matt Bomer (2009)
He did wear the costume but was never really Superman, as he played the role for only few commercials in which he flew around the city block checking and investigating the city with his X-Ray vision. He wasn’t Superman but he did wear those robes so, I guess he counts.
15. Henry Cavill (2013)
Henry Cavill is by far the best actor to have played superman. He is huge and has an excellent physique to go with, matching the iconic hero in every aspect. He is still playing the role of Clark Kent and can be seen in the just released blockbuster movie Batman vs Superman where he will go head to head against the Dark Knight of Gotham City.
16. Jhonny Rockwell (1961)
Why are we mentioning him at the very last? Because Rockwell never played the role on the screen although it was announced as the person next in line to play the role of Superman after the passing of George Reeves. The show’s script were made ready and Rockwell had already been named the next Superman but something went wrong and the world could never see him in the red and blue costume.
Author- Ayank Chourasia
