In celebration of Superman's 75th Anniversary I want to talk about some of my favorite iterations of Superman in movies and TV.
This is where it all started for me. Growing up in the 1980's, the Christopher Reeve was the definitive Superman. His Superman was, powerful, majestic, and a man who fought for truth and justice. His Clark Kent was awkward, gawky, and clumsy. He played the straight man and comedic foil in one character as one movie critic(I think it was the late Joel Siegel) once said. As a kid who wore glasses and was awkward, I could relate to Clark and dreamed of being Superman.
From 1951-1957 George Reeves played Superman in the TV show, "The Adventures of Superman." Unlike Christopher Reeve, he played both Clark Kent and Superman as self-assured, confident, charming men. Superman could also hit bad guys and he even used a nerve hold on gangsters before the famous, "Vulcan death grip." Like the old west heroes of that era, Reeves Superman was tough and he stood up for what was right and good in America.
From 1993-1997, "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" featured Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher as the title characters. The show was a romantic comedy and like George Reeves, Dean Cain played Superman as a confident, smart, coordinated, funny, guy who uses Superman as his disguise so he can have a life as Clark Kent. Teri Hatcher was beautiful and smart and a great Lois Lane.
Smallville ran from 2001 to 2011 and focused on the journey of a teenage Clark Kent to his ultimate destiny of becomimg Superman. At a time when Superman was deemed "unrelatable" viewers liked it because it combined the teen angst of growing up with the added responsiblity of superpowers.
Superman has been around for 75 years and there is an interpretation for every generation. In the summer of 2013 we shall see what cultural impact "Man of Steel" has. If it's anything like these shows and movies, it will be great.
THE PROFESSOR
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