Superman & fam in Live Action general thread

[superduperman]

Superman has been on TV every year in some form or another for the last 35 years. Maybe not continuously but every single year since 1988 has had some kind of Superman on TV. Whether it's cartoons or live action. Even if he wasn't the main character.

[DABellWrites]

Yeah but I'd argue that Superman has the best consistent live action adaption out of any comic book hero and is always filling the void. If he isn't in a movie then he certainly is in a tv show.

It's very interesting that Superman has had so many tv shows considering how larger than life he is yet Batman hasnt had a tv show since Adam West.

Superman has done better on TV than on film. I think every Superman live action adaptation has been a success.

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Where's the 1948 and 1951 film serials?

[SuperX]

Yeah Conner on TV was a thing twice,let's not forget.
post images

[Jeffrey2]

Superman has done better on TV than on film. I think every Superman live action adaptation has been a success.

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Yeah. Superboy was top 10 in syndication, L&C season 2 and 3 were in the top 20 often, Smallville was the top CW show for a while and S&L was one of the top CW shows as well.

[Jman27]

Yeah Conner on TV was a thing twice,let's not forget.
post images

oh yeah i remember being excited for that superboy in smallville got his heat vision from seeing lois not that I can blame him

[superduperman]

Has Superman ever appeared on Titans?

[Primal Slayer]

Has Superman ever appeared on Titans?

only his boots

[Lucas 35]

Updated as I missed a version.

By the way, do you plan to do more images in this style with other characters? Lois, Jimmy, Lex, Lana, Jonathan and Martha for example?

[Primal Slayer]

By the way, do you plan to do more images in this style with other characters? Lois, Jimmy, Lex, Lana, Jonathan and Martha for example?

Probably. I do love a good comparison collage

[SuperX]

oh yeah i remember being excited for that superboy in smallville got his heat vision from seeing lois not that I can blame him

Yeah I really liked the Smallville appearance,it blended his kon and Conner sleeves pretty good,but gave him a totally different feel at the same time.

The Titans Conner,even though he didn't wear a black leather jacket with fingerless gloves enough and didn't have TTK was a great unique interpretation of him,really brought something new and different to the character

[bat39]

Which versions do you think borrowed the most from the Donner movie? My list:

Smallville: This is more or less the Donner Superman as a teenager.

S&L: This one lifts entire scenes from the movie. Especially the Fortress construction.

Superboy: We don't get to see much of this one since he didn't even know where he came from in this universe but the few clips we do get to see include an episode where two aliens pretending to his parents look like the movie versions and apparently the ship he came to Earth in is the exact one from the movie.

Supergirl: Superman himself was kind of a minor character on this show so we don't know a lot about his history but the Fortress very much looks like the one from the movie and the symbol is of course a family crest.

Least influenced:

L&C: The only thing they seemed to borrow from was Jor-El's costume and the family symbol. The globe filled the role of the crystals.

MOS: This one seemed to take almost nothing from the Donner movies with the exception of the symbol being a family crest.

Krypton: Since Superman never actually appeared on the show it's hard to gauge what the influences were other than the symbol being a family crest.

I think a lot of people's perception of Superman is shaped by the Donner movies, with some Post-Crisis elements thrown in. So that's the well most adaptations tend to go back to. It's shaped my own perception of what the 'classic' Superman is, as I wrote about in depth in my thread on the subject - https://community.cbr.com/showthread...assic-Superman

That said, I disagree with you on MOS. It's very much influenced by the Donner movie too, albeit filtered through a more 'realist' lens. It's basically the first two Donner movies with a darker (or rather, morally grey) sensibility. So many plot beats and elements are in common between the two - General Zod's failed coup just before Krypton's destruction leading to his imprisonment in the Phantom Zone and later attempting to take over earth, Jonathan Kent's death during Clark's teenage years, Clark traveling to the Arctic and finding/building the Fortress where the Jor-El hologram reveals his heritage and provides him with the suit, and a few more that don't readily come to mind.

[manwhohaseverything]

I think a lot of people's perception of Superman is shaped by the Donner movies, with some Post-Crisis elements thrown in. So that's the well most adaptations tend to go back to. It's shaped my own perception of what the 'classic' Superman is, as I wrote about in depth in my thread on the subject - https://community.cbr.com/showthread...assic-Superman

That said, I disagree with you on MOS. It's very much influenced by the Donner movie too, albeit filtered through a more 'realist' lens. It's basically the first two Donner movies with a darker (or rather, morally grey) sensibility. So many plot beats and elements are in common between the two - General Zod's failed coup just before Krypton's destruction leading to his imprisonment in the Phantom Zone and later attempting to take over earth, Jonathan Kent's death during Clark's teenage years, Clark traveling to the Arctic and finding/building the Fortress where the Jor-El hologram reveals his heritage and provides him with the suit, and a few more that don't readily come to mind.

I agree completely.Pop culture idea of superman is shaped by byrne and donner.Snyder movies aren't an exception to that.I would think if someone did put together a superman inspired by earlier iterations.It would feel alien to the masses as they won't see superman in it.Even with attempts at referencing things old it always felt like window dressing.Clark's characterisation is very much donner and byrne.For example,clark lifting cars like in action comics #1 in superman and lois,superman returns..so on and so forth.Even the maz fliescher suit doesn't bring forth an axtion hero.But,the romantic one.Not that it's bad thing.It just ain't for me.

[bat39]

I agree completely.Pop culture idea of superman is shaped by byrne and donner.Snyder movies aren't an exception to that.I would think if someone did put together a superman inspired by earlier iterations.It would feel alien to the masses as they won't see superman in it.Even with attempts at referencing things old it always felt like window dressing.Clark's characterisation is very much donner and byrne.For example,clark lifting cars like in action comics #1 in superman and lois,superman returns..so on and so forth.Even the maz fliescher suit doesn't bring forth an axtion hero.But,the romantic one.Not that it's bad thing.It just ain't for me.

You know, I haven't watched a whole lot of Superman & Lois, beyond the first few episodes. But this always struck me about that opening scene in the pilot...as much as I loved seeing Tyler Hoechlin rock that Fleischer costume, his whole demeanor in that scene, and the dialogue ("Nice suit" "Thanks, my mom made it for me") didn't really scream Flesicher or Golden Age to me.

Nothing wrong with that at all of course! But yeah, I get what you mean.

[Jeffrey2]

Which versions do you think borrowed the most from the Donner movie? My list:

Smallville: This is more or less the Donner Superman as a teenager.

S&L: This one lifts entire scenes from the movie. Especially the Fortress construction.

Superboy: We don't get to see much of this one since he didn't even know where he came from in this universe but the few clips we do get to see include an episode where two aliens pretending to his parents look like the movie versions and apparently the ship he came to Earth in is the exact one from the movie.

Supergirl: Superman himself was kind of a minor character on this show so we don't know a lot about his history but the Fortress very much looks like the one from the movie and the symbol is of course a family crest.

Least influenced:

L&C: The only thing they seemed to borrow from was Jor-El's costume and the family symbol. The globe filled the role of the crystals.

MOS: This one seemed to take almost nothing from the Donner movies with the exception of the symbol being a family crest.

Krypton: Since Superman never actually appeared on the show it's hard to gauge what the influences were other than the symbol being a family crest.

Don't forget SR. How could you leave the Singer masterpiece (tongue in cheek) off the list?

Another aspect is the suit. Which projects most adapted the Reeve suit?

Superboy is at the top of that list. The series took the Reeve suit and "improved" it. Thicker cape, more regal attachment at the neck, larger shield and boots more fitted and higher on the calf.

Next is L&C. Though the suit looked "cheap" compared to Reeve's suit it had the color scheme and basic attributes.

Superman Returns was close to Reeve's suit but the shield was way too small, the belt funky and the colors muted. Also, something was off about the fit.

MOS and S&L are the least similar suits. I rate MOS ahead of S&L as the MOS suit is more form fitting, has a better shield and boots. If only it were brighter. I like the MOS suit, I don't like the S&L suit. So it's not a question of the trunks. I can live with or without them.

[Primal Slayer]