BEST versions of Superman!

[superduperman]

To paraphrase an old quote, a great depiction of Superman is like pornography, it's not easy to define it, but I know it when I see it

The perfect Superman exists in our heads, pieced together from all the various incarnations and distilled into one impossible to fully articulate version of the character that is unique to each person.

I couldn't have said it better myself! We all have versions that come close to what we want but only we can form our ideal version in our heads.

[phantom1592]

Ruby Spears Superman: This is, far and away, my favorite version. It defined the character for me as a kid in a way that I didn't realize even then. Mostly it was the Family Album segments. It was the first time I actually saw him as a person and not just a figure. As a kid, seeing one of your heroes as your age getting to use his powers was one of the best experiences of my life. If there is a downside, it's that 1) the show really hasn't aged well and 2) all other versions compare poorly to it. Particularly their origins.

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Absolutely!!! Ruby Spears was my all time favorite animated Superman. Truly iconic superman. Really wish it had gotten a few more seasons or a few more guest stars or something.

Otherwise, my favorite Superman is this icon.

yZChWGr3kndwgeyq4dyTyXUOo1_1280.jpg

JoseLuisGarciaLopezSuperman.jpg

[Soubhagya]

I keep updating my list.

I intend to add Superman of Justice League Action. After reading these posts i decided to check Justice League Action at Youtube. And he is among the best. He has confidence. He has a charm which is more balanced. And for the first time i liked the costume without trunks outside of comics. This is a really good version and the show looks pretty good. Thanks everyone!

[The World]

The Golden Age Superman. People say that modern day Supes is old fashion but usually when they say that they're just saying that he is a hick, but I think Golden Age Superman was the truly old fashioned Superman both for good and for bad. You know he's old fashioned because he gets under peoples skin in a way the other Superman don't really seem to.

[phantom1592]

The Golden Age Superman. People say that modern day Supes is old fashion but usually when they say that they're just saying that he is a hick, but I think Golden Age Superman was the truly old fashioned Superman both for good and for bad. You know he's old fashioned because he gets under peoples skin in a way the other Superman don't really seem to.

Honestly, Golden Age never really worked for me. Not sure if it was the artwork or short stories or lower power levels, but Golden Age always feels more like a rough draft of Superman before he hit his real stride in the silver age.

When I think 'SUPERMAN'... I very rarely think of golden age version.

[superduperman]

The Golden Age Superman. People say that modern day Supes is old fashion but usually when they say that they're just saying that he is a hick, but I think Golden Age Superman was the truly old fashioned Superman both for good and for bad. You know he's old fashioned because he gets under peoples skin in a way the other Superman don't really seem to.

That's ironic because I assumed he was the one version everyone liked!

[Adekis]

That's ironic because I assumed he was the one version everyone liked!

If everyone liked him, then the New 52 Superman wouldn't have so many detractors, haha!

Personally, I love the Golden Age Superman. Ass-kicking, wise cracking, sky-jumping, jerk-trolling, little-guy-supporting, New Deal-extolling, Collyer-voiced Superman! The Champion of the Oppressed!



I wish there was more influence from this guy in contemporary books- even among the New 52 version, honestly. Artistically as well, maybe even moreso than in story terms.



From Adventures of Superman # 16, this was on one of my favorite pages in any Superman comic ever. Batman, Superman and Dracula beating up Frankenstein's. Clearly indebted to the Golden Age in a few obvious ways.

[Kuwagaton]

Thinking about that version, CBR recently had an article on weird things he's eaten.

[Ascended]

Man, Clark used to be such a weird dude.....

[manofsteel1979]

Man, Clark used to be such a weird dude.....

Yeah...suddenly that scene in Superman III where he happily eats alpo doesn't seem so out of left field!

[TruthAndJustice]

If everyone liked him, then the New 52 Superman wouldn't have so many detractors, haha!

Personally, I love the Golden Age Superman. Ass-kicking, wise cracking, sky-jumping, jerk-trolling, little-guy-supporting, New Deal-extolling, Collyer-voiced Superman! The Champion of the Oppressed!



I wish there was more influence from this guy in contemporary books- even among the New 52 version, honestly. Artistically as well, maybe even moreso than in story terms.



From Adventures of Superman # 16, this was on one of my favorite pages in any Superman comic ever. Batman, Superman and Dracula beating up Frankenstein's. Clearly indebted to the Golden Age in a few obvious ways.

I do like the Golden Age Superman. (1930s version really -- by the time WWII starts he's started morphing into something else.) I just don't think the "smash things first and ask questions later" attitude really works in the 21st century. Maybe for some other character. Maybe I would've liked the New52 Superman better if he hadn't looked like a 21 year old (Shuster's Superman was clearly older) and he'd worn the traditional costume. Didn't like either the tee-shirt-and-jeans bit or, much worse, the Jim Lee armor (I honestly can't stand Lee's costume designs. Bring back the Carmine Infantino costume for Barry Allen/Flash!).

[Kuwagaton]

I forgot who exactly designed it but honestly, the Rebirth costume is my favorite. In the end even the New 52 one which I don't like wasn't a big enough deal to annoy me. If he stayed with the look longer or took it up after Reborn, I wouldn't say much.

The late very late 30s-early 50s are a very fuzzy period to me. I know I like the stories where he was still down to earth but didn't run from the cops, which he thankfully stopped doing rather early in the grand scheme of things. The archives are hopefully my next big reading project.

[Adekis]

I do like the Golden Age Superman. (1930s version really -- by the time WWII starts he's started morphing into something else.) I just don't think the "smash things first and ask questions later" attitude really works in the 21st century. Maybe for some other character. Maybe I would've liked the New52 Superman better if he hadn't looked like a 21 year old (Shuster's Superman was clearly older) and he'd worn the traditional costume. Didn't like either the tee-shirt-and-jeans bit or, much worse, the Jim Lee armor (I honestly can't stand Lee's costume designs. Bring back the Carmine Infantino costume for Barry Allen/Flash!).

I like the Golden Age Superman's action-oriented dynamic approach to doing pretty much anything, and I like the way it carries over into the New 52 as well. Personally, I always think Superman is a pretty impulsive character, and I like that about him. I also love the t-shirt and jeans look as a stand-in for the classic suit. I wasn't bothered by his visual youth, in fact I really liked it, because the Golden Age made clear by narration in every iteration that Superman was young, from the newspaper strips to the radio show. I'll admit that I miss the Clint Eastwood squint and square jaw, and the cover sketches for Action # 1 where he looked more Shusterian were a treat- I kind of wish he'd looked like that the whole time- but I appreciated the youthfulness, and I think even a Shusterian Superman ought to have that sense of reckless youth.

Heck, I think my favorite non-Shusterian Superman design is Mike Grell's Superboy, who looks less like a "boy" than a young man. It's a design that even carries over into the "Greatest Hero of Them All" crossover, as where Byrne draws Superboy as a boy, Greg LaRoque draws him as a young man, the same age as the other Legionnaires. I think on some level, that looks right to me and Byrne's Superman almost looks too old in The Man of Steel to have just started his career. To me, by the time he looks that old, he should have a decade of experience in-costume under his belt.

But of course, my favorite Superman design overall is when Jon Bogdanove apes Joe Shuster in Superman: The Man of Steel # 81-83!

I forgot who exactly designed it but honestly, the Rebirth costume is my favorite. In the end even the New 52 one which I don't like wasn't a big enough deal to annoy me. If he stayed with the look longer or took it up after Reborn, I wouldn't say much.

My favorite costume is probably the Reborn one, but I miss the cuffs on his sleeves from the Rebirth outfit. Toss those onto the Reborn suit and maybe the Man of Steel "S" and I don't think you're going to find a better Superman costume. That said, I was never bothered by the New 52 suit either. Sure I'll admit that some artists made it look too clunky, but just as many made it look sleek and cool. I recognize that in-theory that high-collar was probably not a great design choice, but in practice it rarely bugged me.

Hm. Batman's outfit isn't nearly so set-in-stone as Superman's is. Ever since they started fluctuating his shade of grey or alternating whether he's got a yellow oval depending on how the artist feels about it, the fans (or at least I personally) have just gotten used to the idea that there's a number of rotating design elements that can switch around from iteration to iteration of Batman's suit, or even story-to-story within the same 'verse. I think that practically we're in the same place with Superman's suit, but in terms of how the fandom reacts to it, it's totally different. We sometimes make such a big deal out of every element of the suit, including me. Oh no, he's got a high collar! Oh no, those boots are too fancy! Oh no, those boots are blue instead of red! Oh no, that "S" has a pointed end instead of a rounded one! His hair is slicked back instead of having a curl on his forehead! And how long until they finally BRING BACK THE TRUNKS? It's heresy! Maybe we're taking it too seriously, myself included.

[Netherman14]

Someone mentioned it before, but one of the best incarnation is definitely the Fleischer Brothers' take on Superman.

supermananimated.jpg

[superduperman]

My favorite costume far and away is the Kingdom Come suit. With the Fleischer cartoons being a close second. The sleek look of the "S" really works for him. In terms of Mike Grell's Superboy, I think in the canon by that time he would have been in his late teens so making him look a little older made a little bit of sense. I always liked his Green Arrow stuff better just because I think he works better on more down-to-Earth characters.