Should he look like a cornfield big Kansas farm-boy? An alien aristocrat from an idyllic society? What does your ideal Superman look like?

@pperspectiveandreality: At some point, this became my favorite Superman.

@deaditegonzo:

That looks amazing but my ideal Superman is different. He looks like the son of alien scientists and behaves like the son of Kansas farmers. I guess my ideal Superman is drawn by Ryan sook

@pperspectiveandreality: how does that work out. He looks human and is a small town boy from Kansas, a little bit shy, a little bit broken and a little bit nerdy. That's how I see Clark personally. If you turn him into royalty, for me you've ruined him because then he'll be an oligarch hence an enemy of the people. Superman should be one of us and fight for us, do what we can't.

@archizoom:

How does making him look like an alien aristocrat, which by all means is what he is, change him into the enemy of the people? I'm simply talking about how he looks. His parents were a couple of the leading scientific minds on his planet and they were bread warriors as well. Genetics would dictate he look like they would rather than a "broken" "small town boy". Furthermore, I disagree with the notion that Clark is shy. I DO agree he should behave like a small town farm boy but I don't think he should look that way

@pperspectiveandreality: Because oligarchs are the engineers of poverty. For me Superheroes should preferably stay the hell away from that ilk. I for one see Batman as a hypocrite. There's 7 billions of us in the world yet the world's wealth belongs to them. And don't bother saying he's a philanthropist because that almost makes it worse, they steal everything from us then feed us crumbs. Some people call that generosity. I've always wondered why everything and everyone around Superman is the best in their category, including him. He's the best, his parents were the greatest scientists in krypton, his girlfriend is the best journalist in the world. I find all this greatness around Superman nauseating because it pulls him away from us, it corrupts his humanity and denotes the writers willingness to glorify him more and more until he becomes the ruler of the Universe or something.

@archizoom:

.....okay but why does him looking genetically similar to his parents make him an "oligarch"? And the other things you listed are because Superman, and many other superheroes, note they're called "SUPERheroes", are power fantasy creatures of imagination. They're dream's incarnate. Also they are comic characters. I disagree with you fundamentally but this thread is about Superman's aesthetics. Let's stay on topic

@pperspectiveandreality: okay then Clark looks like Henry Cavill. Human, tall and exceptionally handsome.

He looks fine right now.

Personally, I think he should look like your average guy from the mid-west. He should look like he grew up on a farm and handled the work size-wise, but he shouldn't look like he could take you in a fight or anything. Steve Lombard should feel like he can push him around, and he certainly shouldn't have bulging muscles or a six-pack. He should look like Christopher Reeves did. Normal looking guy that easily could have grown up on a farm, not a guy that spent all of his time in the gym working out.

@captaintightpants12: you said it.

Leinil Francis Yu nailed it PERFECTLY

@captaintightpants12: What do you think about Cavill's build?

@w3bst3r: Personally? I think he's way too beefed up. But I think comic book Superman is way too beefed up. Although his name is a taboo around these parts, I thought Brandon Routh had the right build for the part. He looked like he could have grown up on a farm, gotten muscles from farm work, but didn't look like a gym rat at all.

This guy has to pass in public without a mask. Wouldn't everyone turn and look at the guy who looks like he just auditioned for 300 and say, "Hmmm?"

@captaintightpants12: Given how little time they gave Metropolis Clark, I'll hold off until the sequel comes out to see if Snyder & Co. will bother with All Star's reasoning that he alters his whole body language. If they could pull that off someway somehow, I'd be cool with it. Like you said, Cavill not trying to adjust his posture at all between the two will make me question how nobody at the Planet could figure out he looks really buff and resembles Superman with glasses.

@w3bst3r: I guess I should have prefaced my statement with how Cavill's build was the absolute least of my concerns with their interpretation of Superman. I was absolutely not a fan of the movie, loath just seems like too gentle a word for how I felt about the movie, and I seriously doubt they care about how he acts as Daily Planet Clark Kent.

Look like farmboy or aristocrat or behaving like farmboy or aristocrat?

In any case, Clark by default is a tall, good-looking and well-build guy with black hair and blue eyes – just see comics. Practically every heroine is a supermodel-quality, every hero have athlete figure.

He behaves like farmboy, because he was raised by farmer's family, but in the same time he isn’t rural hike. He has manners, but also he is a modern guy. Not sure about “shy”; it can be part of “mild-mannered reporter”-persona, but it’s not his real personality.

A burly farm boy IMO

@saint_wildcard said:

This guy.
The golden age Superman was always my favorite in terms of appearance. That's why I loved the Rags Morales version and the Batman: TBATB one.

@squalleon: His Clark Kent is also pretty good.

CLARK KENT, at least my perfect version of him, should look like an uncomfortable, socially awkward, nerdy, mess of a person with subtle hidden good looks and charm that made 90's movie jocks fall for the ugly-ducklings (ex. She's All That). While he should be physically imposing, around 6'3"-6'4" and decently big, his social attitude should be so off-putting that you never notice the power of his build. His glasses should always be just a little bit off, his hair always a mess, his clothes always a little too big, his speech should stutter and quaver just enough, and, of course, he should be a little clumsy. Just switch the shy, quiet but pretty girl with the socially challenged Clark Kent, and the kind hearted jock with the feisty Lois Lane, and voila! People should have that "How did he get her?!" look every time Lois and Clark are out together. One of my main gripes with his real-life portrayals, besides Reeve, is that Clark Kent should be rolling in women given his looks, and that simply isn't true.....

SUPERMAN, on the other hand, should look like a golden sun god. I'm not saying he has to be the best looking man on earth, but he should definitely have an attractive face. All the actors who portrayed Superman like Welling and Cavil, are perfect as Superman. That face, however, will simultaneously give off an air of generosity, openness, power, authority, and so on. His posture will only accentuate the authoritative and powerful look his face gives off, giving him a truly imposing look. But, like I said above, there is also the generosity and kindness he exudes. So, he is approachable at the same time he is imposing. He should also have that million dollar smile and charm that makes everybody love him. Oh, and I always liked it when Superman hovered instead of walked.

@captaintightpants12: then that movie better be damn good in spite of Daily Planet Clark. If Lex meets Superman and Clark and doesn't recognize them without an explanation given, I'll walk out of the theater.

@w3bst3r: They still need to work on getting me to walk into the theater after Man of Steel.

@saint_wildcard said:

This was cool. Work boots, jeans, and a t-shirt!

@deaditegonzo said:

@saint_wildcard said:

This was cool. Work boots, jeans, and a t-shirt!

Possibly the cheapest thing to cosplay in.

I just realized Im one of the top posters in the Superman section

Gary Frank in a landslide megastomp.

@allstarsuperman: I change my answer. Francis Manapul draws my favorite Superman.

@pperspectiveandreality: ohhh man, the only correct answer is Gary Frank, lol

@allstarsuperman: ehhh I don't like how he draws Superman's face. And I don't think his Superman has a large enough build. Plus did you see Manapuls's unchained variant?

@pperspectiveandreality: Superman doesnt need to be ripped though. I dont like him looking like this:

Gallery

I also hate how he isnt smiling. Superman should be happy. That's why I like Gary Frank's "Christopher Reeve with muscles" Superman.

I think the classic superman is perfect,its very simple jus like his name,hes a man wit superpowers,hed a superman

@allstarsuperman: I don't necessarily want him ripped just bigger. The cover for unchained was perfect for me....or even frank quitley's Superman has the build I think is ideal for Clark. Also I'm one of the few that doesn't care for Chris reeves' Superman.

Like how Daniels and Rocafort portrayed him. He is tall, with broad shoulders and pretty muscled, but not bodybuilder-type, with more compact and lean body frame.

Daniels, Lee and Rocafort do the best superman

Rocafort's superman looks good

All I know he should look handsome like in the last movie.