'Superman & Lois' in development at the CW

[Nelliebly]

Seems to be a conscious decision on the show's part, since in all his other appearances he was clean shaven. Maybe this is their way of showing he's an aged Superman with some years behind him, which wouldn't be shown otherwise since dude is in his early 30s but could pass for mid or early 20s.

He doesn’t remotely look early 20’s to me. Like not even a little. He looks his age and he has grey in his beard.

[Nelliebly]

I can totally appreciate that, but you can't argue with people's gut reactions to how people, particularly actors, look. That isn't really something that's under a person's control.

That doesn't mean that we should allow our first impressions of someone prejudice towards someone as an actual human being, however. No one is saying Tyler is anything but a complete mensch. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about him.

That said, the fact that people like my wife would have such an adverse first reaction to him may be a problem because, like I said, actors are judged based upon their appearance. It's part of the job.

That said, I have no idea how of many people will have this same reaction. I certainly didn't. I have really enjoyed Tyler in the role thus far. My point in telling the story of my wife's reaction wasn't to condemn Tyler as a person or cast doubt on his undeniable handsomeness, but rather to show how difficult it is to cast Superman.

No offense to your wife but no one should be labeled as looking like a rapist, ok? That’s super damaging and offensive on a number of levels particularly bc we know for a fact that a lot of actual predators are great at hiding their true intentions.

It wasn’t a cool thing to say gut reaction or not and I would tell your wife that in person if we were friends. That rhetoric is both unfair, crappy and not appropriate. This is obviously a larger convo that goes way beyond a Superman thread but that’s not something anyone should be saying about anyone—including an actor—even lightly as it makes light of the real threat some men pose. There are REAL predators in Hollywood and at WB and most of them don’t “look” like a threat until they are. So, yes, I’m sorry but the entire convo really bothers me. That’s not ok to even joke about.

[GSman]

He doesn’t remotely look early 20’s to me. Like not even a little. He looks his age and he has grey in his beard.

I know he usually does have a beard and stuff, but I was talking more when he's clean shaven. Clean shaven he looks a bit younger imo. He could pass for someone in their 20s, for me at least.

[Frontier]

In-universe he apparently has hardly aged at all compared to when he first started out on Superman and the Planet cast was all young.

[Nelliebly]

I know he usually does have a beard and stuff, but I was talking more when he's clean shaven. Clean shaven he looks a bit younger imo. He could pass for someone in their 20s, for me at least.

I don’t see it. Probably because I know what he looked like when he was actually in his 20’s and it was different from now.

I also think, in general, cultural bias almost always makes us think men look younger and women look older.

But to each their own.

[rpmaluki]

He looked baby faced during his teen wolf years. As Clark he looks his age clean shaven or not.

And yes, I also agree with the rapist comparison being highly inappropriate all things considered. I literally cringed reading that.

[stargazer01]

But Tyler somehow not being good looking enough to be Clark Kent is not an actual problem. It’s laughable. He’s a doll and I have zero concerns about an audience taking to him provided he’s allowed to display the charm and gifts he possesses naturally.

Tyler doesn’t need my defense because he’s obviously successful and great and it doesn’t matter what anyone here says

But you always defend him.. If he is so amazing and good looking and Supermanish like you say, why do you always have to come to his defense? It feels like insecurity.

If I don't find him attractive, that's my opinion and I have a right to it. I'm not calling him ugly either, he's just not my type. The Superman casting is very important to me, because I want to be in awe of him and his handsome face, his charm and strong body is part of it for me. Of course the way he acts is more important, but Superman is a very physical character, he needs to be the whole package.

I won't apologize for having an opinion that is the opposite to yours. People disagree with me all the time here and everywhere, and guess what, I don't tell them to be nice or force them to agree with me, I just suck it up and move on. Yes, it sometimes hurts my feeling when people don't feel the way I do about things, but that's life. I will still give the show a chance because I care about the character. I don't really care about this version of him, but maybe a miracle will happen and I can enjoy it somehow. I'm trying to have an open mind, but I have my limits.

[Robanker]

As do a lot of people because it’s tied to ethnicity and genetics.

It’s super weird to me to hold that against him. He ::does:: shave. It just grows back that fast. My own brother and father go through this.

My barbarian DNA also grows stubble fast. It's a curse, but it makes for a good place to strike a match if I'm in a pinch.

While I don't think it's a problem, Superman is almost universally clean-shaven so I can understand if it feels strange to see him with five o-clock shadow. Some can't accept a Superman without the spit curl. I know he always looks a little incomplete to me when he's missing it.

I use this example a lot, but Red Sonja is 100% her hair from a design standpoint. If you look at any art of her (and most hang up on the bikini), you'll notice it's when her hair is in motion or has some degree of untamed quality that she pops off the page. When someone draws her with straight hair it just doesn't fit-- she's a barbarian! If you put her in a cloak that covers her bikini, she can still look like Red Sonja. Not so much if you give her a buzz cut. She works best when her hair is as wild and untamed as she is herself. Like Superman with stubble or even a beard, straight hair can look fine on her but it does a lot of work informing her character when drawn in motion.

Superman has similar qualities to his design. The S Shield is probably the biggest, but some others are the spit curl or clean shave. I know lots of guys like the bearded Superman look but if you show him to most general audience they'll ask why he has one, not so much that it looks great or bad. It's just not what they think about with Superman. It's not Tyler's fault at all, but speaking strictly from a design standpoint it does stand out. As an example of some that don't seem to bother people in adaptions? Blue eyes. Most actors playing him don't have them and few seem to care. I'd put the clean shave closer to the middle for Clark-- it can work, but it can also look very unnatural.

The clean shave makes him look a bit friendlier and approachable. Perhaps it's just me, but I also associate them historically with nobility or monarchs (because they could afford the time and luxury to groom and maintain them) so I think that when combined with his immense power would make him come across as a little more aloof. He edges closer to Zues than 30-something podcaster, you know what I mean? It all depends on execution.

For what it's worth, I don't have anything really against Tyler. So far he's been given nothing to work with but he has the right upbeat quality to him when he gets a chance to, so I think he can do it. We'll see in the final product when he's allowed to really be the Man of Tomorrow. I will say, however, that his Superman did get upstaged by Routh when they shared a screen. Not sure if that's just because Routh's a big guy or had the legacy of being an actual film Superman. Hell, that whole scene was shot to be "holy **** it's Brandon Routh" so Hoechlin had a mountain to climb up in that respect.

I wish him the best. This is his chance to shine and I would so love to have a Superman television show I adore.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

No offense to your wife but no one should be labeled as looking like a rapist, ok? That’s super damaging and offensive on a number of levels particularly bc we know for a fact that a lot of actual predators are great at hiding their true intentions.

It wasn’t a cool thing to say gut reaction or not and I would tell your wife that in person if we were friends. That rhetoric is both unfair, crappy and not appropriate. This is obviously a larger convo that goes way beyond a Superman thread but that’s not something anyone should be saying about anyone—including an actor—even lightly as it makes light of the real threat some men pose. There are REAL predators in Hollywood and at WB and most of them don’t “look” like a threat until they are. So, yes, I’m sorry but the entire convo really bothers me. That’s not ok to even joke about.

Again, I understand your point of view, but I think this would be a conversation you can have with my wife because I'm sure as hell not going to start lecturing my wife on the exact manner she should be expressing her opinions to her husband behind closed doors about an actor she thought looked creepy because it might offend some people on a message board that she has no interest in whatsoever

However, I apologize for any offense my relating her opinions on a public forum has caused. If my bring it up has created any undue harm or stress towards anyone sensitive about this, that's on me.

Again, for the record, I think Tyler Hoechlin is a perfectly good Superman and a very handsome man who is, I'm sure, a perfect gentleman in all regards.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I wish him the best. This is his chance to shine and I would so love to have a Superman television show I adore.

Oh, absolutely. No one is actively hoping this show isn’t successful. Well, I am sure there’s a few who do, but they’re nuts who think another failed Superman project will somehow convince WB to finally produce the big budget Superman project of their dreams that is tailored specifically to their exact perception of Superman.

[Vordan]

Someone remind me: Hoechlin Superman does have that connection to the Legion of Superheroes right? He adventured with them as a kid?

[GSman]

Someone remind me: Hoechlin Superman does have that connection to the Legion of Superheroes right? He adventured with them as a kid?

From what I know, no he doesn't. He isn't even their inspiration here, it's Kara. Though they can retcon them in due to Crisis, I guess. Edit: Actually just remembered they did show a Legion ring in his fortress in one of Supergirl's episodes, so yeah he does.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Someone remind me: Hoechlin Superman does have that connection to the Legion of Superheroes right? He adventured with them as a kid?

Pre-Crisis, yes. Who knows about post-Crisis. It would be a big waste of potential if they skip it.

[phantom1592]

From what I know, no he doesn't. He isn't even their inspiration here, it's Kara. Though they can retcon them in due to Crisis, I guess. Edit: Actually just remembered they did show a Legion ring in his fortress in one of Supergirl's episodes, so yeah he does.

I bailed on the show around season 2 I think, so my memories aren't the greatest here...

but back in season one, didn't they already show Superman's Legion ring in the fortress... and have it disappear while he was off world the next time she visited?

Legion is nothing but retcons and time travel wackiness on the best of days so they could always have messed things up, but it was definitely pointed out that Superman and Legion had history... or future... or alternate universe or whatever

I wouldn't be surprised if they tie him back in. Just to reuse some of the earlier cast.

[Frontier]

Hopefully they don't force a Legion connection with the kids...at least to where it overshadows Clark.