There are other Supermans?

Some people may be shocked, but Henry Cavill is not the only Superman. There have been many that have played that role. Henry Cavill has been trending lately after dropping a bomb that he was told by James Gunn that they did not want him to return as Superman. I am amazed at how much moving and shaking on the planet there is any time something happens to him. But, much like Keanu, we all love Henry.

People that know me well would know that I am a huge nerd and I love wargames and board games. Turns out so does Henry Cavill who is going from Witcher and Superman to now supposedly rumored to be doing a Warhammer show on Amazon. This has turned the gaming world upside down! But that’s another story, we’re talking about Superman.

“Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!“

According to History.com, Superman was originally created by Jerry Siegel and his friend Joe Shuster published their 13-page Superman story in Action Comics #1 published in June of 1938. Action Comics #1 is considered one of the most valuable comics of all time. One sold at auction for 3.18 million dollars. It was in the number one slot till the first appearance of Spider-Man sold for 3.6 million.

Superman’s popularity was like a rocket. Superman propelled into success along with the idea of superheroes in general. Soon after every publisher wanted a superhero. Radio jumped with the Adventures of Superman radio show (1940-1951) starring Bud Coyer as the voice of Supes.

Even with that success it still took nearly a decade before we would see the man of steel on the big screen. Here are some of the marvelous actors that played Superman, that are not Henry Cavill per denofgeek.com.

Kirk Alyn
Played Superman in both Superman (1948) and Atom Man vs. Superman (1950). These were “serials” which were like movies but in segments. Kirk Alyn was not even properly credited in the films as they say Superman was played by “Clark Kent”. That’s a long way from asking for millions to play him now.
George Reeves
George played Superman in Superman & The Mole Men (1951) and Adventures of Superman (1952-1958). Superman & The Mole Men was a black-and-white film while the other was a television series that ran for seven seasons. They reference George as having a “lantern-like jaw”. I’ve always loved that saying.
Christopher Reeve
Arguably the best Superman of all time, Christopher Reeve played Superman in Superman: The Movie (1978), Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). If not for his injuries from horse riding he may have played him again. His charismatic face and the good guy look really embody to me what Superman is.
John Haymes Newton
Who? Oh, um, John Haymes Newton played Superman in Superboy in 1988. I guess I really wasn’t paying attention to Superman so much then. I was much more interested in Batman with Keaton in 1989.
Gerard Christopher
Another SUPERBOY! Gerard played Superman aka Superboy in the Adventures of Superboy for four seasons. This honestly passed by me also, but alas, I was just waiting for the next Tim Burton film.
Dean Cain
Now you’re in my memory banks! Or maybe it’s because the internet was just coming in and Teri Hatcher’s Superman cape picture broke the web. Nervous little boys (and girls I’m sure) discovering the ability to download naughty pictures was all the rage (NOT THAT I KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT). Oh yeah and Dean Cain was Superman in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997).
Tom Welling
Tom Welling I think is really the first Superman of the modern era of writing. Where writing diverted from sitcoms and cheesy writing to more diverse and deeper stories. Smallsville doesn’t even have Superman in the title! This show went a long time and had a slew of fans. Tom Welling was in Smallsville from 2001-2011.
Brandon Routh
With the success of properties like Spiderman and Batman Begins, DC wanted to get Superman in on the superhero movie war. Enter Brandon Routh in Superman Returns in 2006.
Henry Cavill
The Henry Cavill ERA! And DC comics attempt at creating a multiverse like Marvel. It did not really work out that way financially as they hoped, but that didn’t stop people from enjoying the beef stick that is Henry Cavill. Henry played Superman in Man of Steel (2013), Batman vs Superman (2016), and Justice League (2017). And numerous drop-ins as Superman like his cameo in Black Atom.