SUPERMAN Goes to the Movies …!

You’ve got to love a good movie leak. Once again, the Internet is buzzing about new photos from the set of Man of Steel, the Superman movie directed by Zack Snyder (Sucker Punch, Watchmen) and starring Henry Cavill. Everyone’s got an opinion on the design, the material used, the colors. And naturally, folks are comparing the outfit to those worn by movie Supermen of the past. Not long ago, we looked at the evolution of Superman’s uniform in the comics. And months back, we looked at how the TV series Smallville gave us new designs for Clark Kent’s heroic alter ego. Now, let’s take a look at how the different movie adaptations have tackled what is perhaps the most famous superhero costume in the world.
CHRISTOPHER REEVE
Superman had shown up in movie theaters before. There were the famous Fleischer cartoons and the serials starring Kirk Alyn. But it wasn’t until 1978 that the world got a true feature-length adventure featuring the Man of Tomorrow. Superman: The Movie was directed by Richard Donner (The Goonies, Lethal Weapon) and starred Christopher Reeve in the titular role, an actor so unknown at the time that he didn’t even get top billing. The costume designer for this film was Yvonne Blake, who also worked on Jesus Christ Superstar and What Dreams May Come. The Superman suit worn by Christopher Reeve is possibly the most accurate superhero costume adaptation for a film. The belt, the cut of the boots, the symbol, the cape. All are the same as the classic Superman costume that the Last Son of Krypton had been wearing since the 1940s.   –Read lots more about ‘Superman’s Costuming‘