Why Tyler Hoechlin vs Henry Cavill is another Silly & Pointless Argument

Back in October 2016, Season 2 of The CW's Supergirl began airing, the season featured a new version of Superman (played by actor, Tyler Hoechlin). It was a classic a take as you can get and as if on cue this happened:
Needless to say, some comparing and contrasting began. Here we go again.


Look I'm in no way saying I'm anti-Hoechlin or anything like that. I thought the Supergirl clips featuring him in action were spectacular. I loved his interactions with Kara and I'm keen to see how it plays out in latter episodes of the Season. However, I realise that the CW is clearly giving us as an audience a classic take on the Man of Tomorrow in this Season of Supergirl and there's nothing wrong with that especially considering he's being credited as a guest star and that there has been a precedent to give us such a take in and not just in the comics. I'm talking about prior movies animated shows and features and live action shows such as Smallville and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. My point is:

1. There have been countless itterations of Superman prior to Tyler Hoechlin, not just the movies, but in TV shows and animated shows, each actor has played the character differently and brought something new to the table. If you think "Oh Tyler Hoechlin is better than Henry Cavill" you clearly have never seen any prior on-screen interpretations of the Man of Steel.

2. Just because Hoechlin is "awesome" as Supes on Supergirl, it doesn't automatically mean that Cavill is instantly garbage, nor was ever garbage to begin with. This is just another example of people simply hating on the DCEU Superman without any real context.

My biggest problem/complaint about this whole Tyler Hoechlin vs Henry Cavill comparison is that people are treating Hoechlin's Superman like he's the Second Coming (no pun intended) when the title of the freaking show is Supergirl for goodness sake. Meaning he is not the focus around here! He's not the star of the show for goodness sake!

Have any of you even seen any previous interpretations of Superman on the Big or small screens?: Aventures with Superman with George Reeves, the Christopher Reeve era Superman films, Superman: The Animated Series, Lois and Clark, Smallville, coutless DTDV animated films, the DCCU. New and different takes they call it. So overdone.

Many DC fans don't like Henry Cavill's version of Superman in the DCCU for the following reasons:
  • He never smiles.
  • He's emotionless.
  • He's too conflicted and angsty (Aren't those emotions?)
  • The movies starring him are too dark.
  • He's too mopy.
  • Zack Snyder ruined him.
All of the above is soooooooo easily debunkable as he "smiles" several times throughout Man of Steel (2013).







So none of the above is "smiling" is it?
He expresses happiness when he's around people whom he respects admires and cares about.

Additionally Exec. Producer Andrew Kreisberg has even stated that this Superman is supposed to be more traditional finding his roots in the comics and the animated series as well as the Christopher Reeve era films: "There's certainly a little bit of the 'Aw shucks' about him, but he's been Superman for awhile, so there's a savviness about him as Superman and as Clark."

Regarding influences, Kreisberg said that Hoechlin's performance is based on a variety of sources, stating that "there's a little bit of the Christopher Reeve Superman in there, a healthy dose of Superman: The Animated Series, which we're huge fans of, a little bit of Lois & Clark, a little George  Reeves and a little Super Friends." That sounds like quite a recipe. 

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