Superman, the last son of Krypton. As a character, he has appeared in every form of media that fans can dream of, including video games, television shows, and of course movies. Alongside the comic books, the movie incarnations of Superman are easily his most recognizable, with many actors taking the mantle of the Man Of Steel. However, because of Superman's fluctuating power level, some interpretations are clearly stronger than the other.
Taking a look at the Man of Steel's extensive live-action history, here are all of the versions of Superman ranked based on their powerset.
9 Kirk Alyn (Superman 1948 & Atom Man Vs. Superman)
This is the original Superman. Before Christopher Reeves, George Reeve, or Henry Cavill, there was Kirk Alyn. This version of Superman originally appeared during the movie serials Superman and Atom Man vs Superman. For the most part, all of the standard Superman abilities were present here such as super strength and speed.
Since this version of Superman was the very first, he was also by far the weakest. As Alyn's Superman came out between 1948 and 1950, his powerset was still within the Golden Age character's interpretation. As a result, while his feats of strength and speed were impressive, they got massively dwarfed by later incarnations.
8 George Reeves (Superman & The Mole Men & Adventures Of Superman TV Show)
One of the most iconic interpretations of the character, perhaps second only to one of his later successors, George Reeves' Superman was considered THE version for a generation of fans.
In spite of this, however, similar to Kirk Alyn, this version of Superman was comparable to his Golden Age comic counterpart. Although powerful in his own right, Reeves' Superman's weak speed feats and inconsistent showings put him low on the list.
7 John Haymes Newton & Gerard Christopher (Superboy TV Show)
Next are the two distinct actors who played the same version of Superboy: John Haymes Newton and Gerard Christopher. A younger version of Superman in the series, Superboy had all of the powers that many fans were familiar with. But in spite of that and his four-season appearances, the character was not as powerful as earlier incarnations.
Things that attributed to this include Superboy's experience, a result of this incarnation being far younger than his other counterparts. A notable example of Superboy's strength came when he destroyed an asteroid, although that resulted in him getting amnesia in the Superboy....Lost episode.
6 Henry Cavill (Man Of Steel, Batman V Superman & Justice League)
The most recent live-action movie version of Superman, Henry Cavill's Superman has accomplished a lot of great feats. The character has had a total of three films to show off his stuff, and this Superman is far from done.
In the DCEU, Superman is the strongest member of the Justice League, and he even managed to take on Steppenwolf effortlessly. That being said in spite of his actions being consistent, Cavill's Superman is still weaker than some of the other Men of Steel.
5 Tyler Hoechlin (Arrowverse Shows)
The most recent television adaptation of the character, Tyler Hoechlin's Superman has a very interesting history. Although he is typically playing second fiddle to his cousin, after all, it is Supergirl's show, that doesn't mean he is particularly weak.
Superman is relatively similar to his cousin, in that he is capable of fighting against other superhuman threats and has even tanked reality-warping attacks from the Book of Destiny.
4 Dean Cain (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman)
Next up is the classic Superman from the 1990s, who was portrayed by Dean Cain. When writing the article, it was initially assumed that this version of Superman would be fairly weak, however, the character was a lot stronger than he looked.
For starters, the character could phase through things similar to the Flash. Furthermore, this Superman is also able to move faster than the speed of light, tanking a nuke better than Cavill's Superman and headbutting an asteroid.
3 Brandon Routh (Superman Returns & Crisis On Infinite Earths)
The successor to Christopher Reeve's interpretation of the character and also one of the most powerful versions. Within the continuity that Brandon Routh's interpretation is from, he follows Superman 1 & 2, which means he is capable of going back in time.
Not only that but this Superman is also able to infamously lift up a Kryptonite island and throw it into space. Later on, Routh's Superman appeared in Crisis On Infinite Earths to do easy work against Tyler Hoechlin's version of the character.
2 Christopher Reeve (Superman 1978 to 4)
The definitive Superman for many people, there were many things that made this version of the Man Of Steel a legend. Powerset aside, Christopher Reeve's Superman captured the personality and heart of the character. His version made him influential even to the comics that inspired the film. Finally, his powerset was also absolutely amazing.
As mentioned with Routh's version of the character, this Superman is capable of time traveling back in time. He can push the moon with relative ease and fight three Kryptonians at the same time. But similar to the Silver Age version of the character, Reeve's Superman is able to use powers that seemingly come out of nowhere, including rebuilding the great wall of China.
1 Tom Welling (Smallville)
Although Christopher Reeve's Superman is absolutely powerful for a majority of reasons, Tom Welling's version is probably the closest to the comic book original. Not only did he have ten full seasons that allowed him to develop his powerset fully as well as his personality, but Welling's Superman accomplished feats that were extraordinary.
Tom Welling's Superman can do things such as push the planet Apokolips with ease, and he also fought supervillains as powerful as Doomsday. To put it simply, Welling's version of the Man of Steel is the closest any audience will ever get to the actual modern comic Superman.