With the latest suit reveal forJames Gunn’supcoming film,Superman, fans have one thing on their mind: Superman suits.Up until now, there have been eleven iterations of Superman in live-action(and one that never saw the light of day),each with their own interpretation of the iconic red and blue suitthat has brought hope to people across the world for 87 years.
For general audiences looking at the classic Superman suit at first glance, they may think there are not many things that could be done differently with the suit, as it is relatively simple. But they would surely be mistaken, aseach live-action Superman has a suit that is unique and iconic to them specifically.Some are good, some are bad and others are just plain weird. Although, that is to be expected from a character who has been in film and television for the last 67 years.
11Tom Welling
‘Smallville’ (2001)
WhileSmallvilleis one of the most critically acclaimed superhero television series of all time,the tropes of the early 2000s CW did not do the Superman suit any justice.While, yes, there was a legitimate Supermansuit shown in the last few seconds of the series, it simply cannot be truly considered as the chest is the only thing that is seen.
The suitTom Wellingwore that could be considered his “Superman” suit isa red leather jacket with the Superman symbol simply embossed onto it.At the end of the day, it’s really just a far cry from anything resembling a Superman suit and wasa pretty lazy way to do the Superman suit without actually doing the Superman suit.Smallvilleis still certainly worth a watch, though!
Smallville
Smallvillecan be streamed on Hulu in the U.S.
WATCH ON HULU
10Nicolas Cage
‘Superman Lives’ (Unreleased) & ‘The Flash’ (2023)
Anyone who has interacted in the superhero pop-culture community has heard rumblings thatNicolas Cagewas once lined up to play Superman in the unmade Tim Burton film,Superman Lives. For years, the film was stuck in what can be called “production hell” for a plethora of reasons, like studio executives wanting Superman to fight a giant spider (as seen in 2023’sThe Flash.)
While the story and production are wild as is, they managed to make a Superman costume for Cage to try on that is a physical representation of the issues with DC’s superhero films at the time.The design of the suit was good on paper but absolutely terrible in execution,suffering from the same issues theBurton universe ofBatmanfilms had with their costumes.Too much rubber molding fake and extreme muscle structure.It just doesn’t work and makes many fans glad that the film did not end up coming to fruition. But they would get the chance to see him in action in a short cameo inThe Flash.
The Flashcan be streamed on Max in the U.S.
WATCH ON MAX
9Kirk Alyn
‘Superman’ (1948) & ‘Atom Man vs. Superman’ (1950)
Kirk Alynis most notably known asthe first person ever to play Superman in live actionin the 1948 movie serial simply calledSupermanthat depicts Superman’s origin story and the hero facing off against a villain called Spider Lady. He’d go on to star in the serial’s sequel,Atom Man vs. Superman, in which Lex Luthor (also called Atom Man) threatens life itself when he develops a device that can break people down to their basic atoms.
The suit leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to making a good super suit. Unfortunately for Alyn,his content was being made at a time when the skills and materials that go into making a good supersuit had yet to be really nailed downand developed. So, as a result,his suit is pretty much a sweater with the logo sewn on.
Supermanis available for streaming on Prime Video in the U.S.
Watch On Prime
8Dean Cain
‘Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman’ (1993)
While it may simply look like the basic comic book Superman suit with a bigger S than usual, respect has to be given to the fact that the suit looks as good as it does on the budget its show had. Being a network television series in the early 90s meantLois and Clark: The New Adventures of Supermandidn’t have a lot to work with monetarily,yet thankfully, the suit managed to turn out moderately well!
The suit is simple, basic and true to the Superman design.While still good for its time, nowadays, its biggest drawback mainly comes from the materialthat makes up the suit itself. Unfortunately, the suitlooks a bit cheap with its fabrics and the emblem is just a tad too big for some Superman fans' standards.TheDean CainSuperman suitisn’t bad by any means, but it’s also not exemplary.This makes it a very middle ground suit compared to those that came before and after it.
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Supermancan be streamed on Max in the U.S.
7Henry Cavill
The DCEU Franchise
Opinions onHenry Cavill’s films, portrayal and suit during his tenure as Superman lie primarily at opposite extremes.Some love everything Cavill andZack Snyder’s films brought to the table, while others have a strong hatred for them.Cavill’s universe’s Superman suit is quite unlike the others for a few reasons,most notably,the lack of the iconic red trunks.Love them or hate them, the trunks are an iconic part of the character’s past designs.
Aside from the lack of trunks, the Cavill suit took a couple more steps in its own direction with its moretoned down colors and lack of a real significant belt to break up the suit’s blue,which does hinder the design a bit. But much likeAndrew Garfield’sThe Amazing Spider-Mansuit, the Cavill suithas to be respected for taking such risks (compared to film and television suits of the past) and managing to genuinely pull them off.It’s by no means a perfect suit, but it’s of genuine quality that cannot be denied, whether one thinks the films are good or not.
Man of Steel
Man of Steelcan be streamed on Max in the U.S.
6Tyler Hoechlin
‘Superman and Lois’ (2021)
With its release in 2021,Superman and Loistook the world by storm with itsastounding adaption of the Superman characterand mythos. Along with this wonderfully new iteration of Superman’s corner of the DC Universe,came a wonderfully new iteration of Superman’s red and blue tights.
Where Cavill’s red and blue suit found issues by not having a noticeable belt,Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman suit decides toadd a nice red belt that perfectly breaks apart the blue to make up for this suit’s trunks deficiency.The symbol is a great size that fills up a nearly perfect proportion of the chest. The CW has always been pretty decent at creating super suits and theSuperman and Loissuit is no exception.While it does have a bit too much padding underneath the suit, the pros outweigh the cons,letting this suit find itself above the majority.
Superman & Lois
Superman and Loiscan be streamed on Max in the U.S.
5Brandon Routh
‘Superman Returns’ (2006)
Superman Returnsis a peculiar situation and its suit is not exempt from that. Like what had been done with theTim Burtonuniverse ofBatmanfilms,Superman Returnsis a continuation of theChristopher Reevefilms, but with a new actor;Brandon Routh. SotheSuperman Returnssuit is an attempt to recreate what once was, while trying to still have an identity of its own,much like the film itself.
The material on the suit is very finely lined and well crafted,making the suit look genuine and professional.The brighter blue also brings back that hopeful vibe of the Reeves filmsand, while that shade of blue doesn’t necessarily mesh very well with the more maroon-red on the symbol and cape, it’s too good not to mention. The suit is not without its flaws, of course. To the contrary of Dean Cain’s symbol,the symbol found on this suit is a tad too small, making his chest have some empty space that feels off.While it didn’t perfectly recreate the Reeves suit in the modern age, its attempt to do so turned out pretty dang good.
Superman Returns
Superman Returnscan be streamed on Max in the U.S.
4Henry Cavill (Black Suit)
‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ (2021)
After much petitioning, fans of Zack Snyder’s rendition of the DC Universe got their wish andWarner Brothers gave Snyder the chance to finish his visionafter he had to leave the first version of the filmand hand it off toJoss Whedon. The film,Zack Snyder’s Justice League, was released on Max and with Snyder’s true vision of the film came anew iteration of Cavill’s Superman suit in full black and gray.
What puts this version of the suit a tad higher than the red and blue in quality is what the colors do for the overall look of the suit. Where the contrast between the blue and red made the lack of a belt to break up the blue on the other Cavill suit made it look a bit off,the absence of contrast and presence of colors that are closer on the color wheel make the suit flow a lot better.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Zach Snyder’s Justice Leaguecan be streamed on Max in the U.S.
3Tyler Hoechlin (Flashback)
Before Hoechlin’s Superman donned his modern-day Superman suit, he is shown in flashbacks wearing his first-ever Superman outfit, whichis a near one-to-one recreation of theMax Fleischer’s Supermancostume.Canonically made by Ma Kent,this suit is made with very high-quality fabrics that still manage to look like the suit might have been made by Ma Kent.
The symbol is about as retro as Superman costume symbols get,and it works so well. It instills a feeling of both nostalgia and a certain kind of camp that doesn’t detract from the feeling of the suit but enhances it.He feels like a good old-fashioned superhero.The suit almost fully recreates the hopeful and happy feeling that the Christopher Reeve suit once had.The colors are light and mesh together well without feeling too bright.It’s an overall wonderful suit that is incredibly faithful to the hero’s past.
2Brandon Routh (CW)
‘Batwoman’Season 1, Episode 9
During the massive CW crossover event,Crisis on Infinite Earths, the world saw the return of Routh’s Superman fromSuperman Returns.But in the time that had passed since that film, a “reject from Gotham” decided to gas the Daily Planet and kill everyone inside for not covering him enough, meaning the end of Lois Lane and the rest of Clark’s co-workers. As he does, though,Clark kept his hope and donned a brand-new suit to symbolize that.
This costume is an almost perfect recreation of the Kingdom Come suit from the comic of the same name.Many claim this suit to be the most well produced suit the CW has ever produced and arguably among the best superhero suits in recent history.The symbol is insanely beautiful with its glossy trim paired with its red and black color scheme.The blues and reds on the suit are the perfect vibrancy a Superman suit should have while still having darker tonesto match the canon of the character.
