With the latest suit reveal for James Gunn's upcoming 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 suit that 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, as each 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.

11 Tom Welling

'Smallville' (2001)

While Smallville is 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 Superman suit 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 suit Tom Welling wore that could be considered his "Superman" suit is a 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 was a pretty lazy way to do the Superman suit without actually doing the Superman suit. Smallville is still certainly worth a watch, though!

Smallville can be streamed on Hulu in the U.S.

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10 Nicolas Cage

'Superman Lives' (Unreleased) & 'The Flash' (2023)

Anyone who has interacted in the superhero pop-culture community has heard rumblings that Nicolas Cage was 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's The 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 the Burton universe of Batman films 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 in The Flash.

The Flash can be streamed on Max in the U.S.

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9 Kirk Alyn

'Superman' (1948) & 'Atom Man vs. Superman' (1950)

Kirk Alyn is most notably known as the first person ever to play Superman in live action in the 1948 movie serial simply called Superman that 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 down and developed. So, as a result, his suit is pretty much a sweater with the logo sewn on.

Superman is available for streaming on Prime Video in the U.S.

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8 Dean 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 meant Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman didn'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 material that makes up the suit itself. Unfortunately, the suit looks a bit cheap with its fabrics and the emblem is just a tad too big for some Superman fans' standards. The Dean Cain Superman suit isn'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 and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman can be streamed on Max in the U.S.

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7 Henry Cavill

The DCEU Franchise

Opinions on Henry Cavill's films, portrayal and suit during his tenure as Superman lie primarily at opposite extremes. Some love everything Cavill and Zack 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 more toned 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 like Andrew Garfield's The Amazing Spider-Man suit, the Cavill suit has 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 can be streamed on Max in the U.S.

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6 Tyler Hoechlin

'Superman and Lois' (2021)

With its release in 2021, Superman and Lois took the world by storm with its astounding adaption of the Superman character and 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 to add 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 the Superman and Lois suit 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 and Lois can be streamed on Max in the U.S.

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5 Brandon Routh

'Superman Returns' (2006)

Superman Returns is a peculiar situation and its suit is not exempt from that. Like what had been done with the Tim Burton universe of Batman films, Superman Returns is a continuation of the Christopher Reeve films, but with a new actor; Brandon Routh. So the Superman Returns suit 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 films and, 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 can be streamed on Max in the U.S.

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4 Henry 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 and Warner Brothers gave Snyder the chance to finish his vision after he had to leave the first version of the film and hand it off to Joss Whedon. The film, Zack Snyder's Justice League, was released on Max and with Snyder's true vision of the film came a new 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.

Zach Snyder's Justice League can be streamed on Max in the U.S.

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3 Tyler Hoechlin (Flashback)

'Superman and Lois' (2021)

Before Hoechlin's Superman donned his modern-day Superman suit, he is shown in flashbacks wearing his first-ever Superman outfit, which is a near one-to-one recreation of the Max Fleischer's Superman costume. 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.

Superman and Lois can be streamed on Max in the U.S.

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2 Brandon 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 from Superman 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 tones to match the canon of the character.

Batwoman can be streamed on Max in the U.S.

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1 Christopher Reeve

The 'Superman' (1978) Series

There is simply no beating the best of the best. Not only is Christopher Reeve arguably the best Superman to date, but he easily has the best Superman suit. There are multiple reasons the Reeves iteration of Superman is still the most iconic version of the character 47 years later, and one of those reasons happens to be the fact he wears the ideal Superman suit.

The suit introduced in Superman is the absolute perfect recreation of the classic comic book Superman suit. The colors are bright and hopeful, perfectly matching the light of hope that Reeves' Superman shined on both his own world and the real world. This suit set the standard for superhero suits for years to come. There are very little poor things to note about the Reeves suit, and it remains a shining example of good superhero costumes in live-action.

Superman: The Movie can be streamed on Max in the U.S.

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KEEP READING: The Best Quote From Each Superman Movie