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"Literally every guy I know is fangirling right now in preparation of the latest Superman movie, Man of Steel, coming to theaters nationwide today. Based on the trailer: it&amp;#x27;s not hard to see why dudes are in need of a fainting couch like they&amp;#x27;re a character out of a Jane Austen novel. The soft piano playing transitioning into rousing orchestral music would make any guy feel like he can save the world from imminent danger. The narration is by manly man Russell Crowe, who has a voice as warm and deep as a vat of caramel used in Twix bars, and Henry Cavill is hella hot. Like &amp;quot;schoolchildren hop-scotching in Haiti during summertime&amp;quot; hot. OK, so maybe the Henry thing is more how I feel as opposed to most guys. The point is that the film looks great. But more than that, Cavill now joins an exclusive club of actors who have portrayed one of the most beloved and popular superheroes of all time. So with that in mind, I figured let&amp;#x27;s take a look back at all the previous Supermen and rank them from best to worst: 6) Brandon Routh After many years of Hollywood trying to get a new Superman film off the ground following the excellent performance by Christopher Reeves (more on him below) as the titular character, star of One Life to Live the handsome Routh&amp;amp;#8212;who admittedly outside of soap opera fans was a relative unknown&amp;amp;#8212;was cast in the role. Some had a problem casting a newbie; I, on the other hand, did not. If you&amp;#x27;re going to reboot a franchise, sometimes it&amp;#x27;s nice to have a fresh face instead of an actor we&amp;#x27;ve all seen before. Unfortunately, he did not pop in Superman Returns, as he could not rise above a lackluster script enough to at least show that he has the potential to carry a franchise. Plus, he was outshone by Kevin Spacey, who played Lex Luther. 5) Tom Welling Welling, a model, was cast as Superman in the teen WB TV show Smallville. Not only did it launch his career, but it was on air for 10 years, which became the longest run any comic-book-based show had ever had on television. And let&amp;#x27;s not forget that Christopher Reeves and critics gave Welling props for his portrayal. 4) Kirk Alyn I&amp;#x27;m going to be honest: I don&amp;#x27;t know much about this actor, nor his performance as THE guy in the red boots. However, I&amp;#x27;m assuming that Alyn, who originated the role, is probably better that Routh: LOL. Sure, everything about this clip is campy: the music, the style of speaking, and Alyn&amp;#x27;s reaction to being exposed to Kryptonite. But it all works. He looked incredibly close to the Superman of the comic books, and I can imagine that if I was a kid growing up in the 1940s, when this was on, I would love the crap out of this. 3) Dean Cain I remember my dad watching Cain in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Sure, the TV show was cheesy and the plotlines weren&amp;#x27;t always that great, but he and Teri Hatcher, who portrayed Lois, had excellent chemistry, and Cain got stronger as an actor as the show progressed. 2) George Reeves Reeves was another actor who embodied this superhero for the small screen. In fact, he was so good on his 1951-58 TV series that he, unfortunately, became typecast in the role. Surely this was frustrating for him, but not so much for viewers who enjoyed his performance as Superman. To me, his acting as Clark Kent is what stood out. Most actors make Kent boring and lame, but Reeves found something deeper and portrayed him as a man who is calm and in control. 1) Christopher Reeves What is there to say that hasn&amp;#x27;t already been said about Reeves? He was Superman when I was a child, so he holds a special place in my heart as the best. But bias aside, Superman: The Movie is considered by a lot of people to be a classic movie. His performance as the superhero and as Clark Kent is flawless, and he manages to shine, especially in Superman III and IV, which were not great films. Reeves will always be the best. Who&amp;#x27;s your favorite Superman? Are you excited to see Man of Steel this weekend?"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/entertainment/blogs/obsessed/2013/06/men-of-steel-ranking-the-best>