This article contains spoilers for Black Adam, now playing in theaters.

Superman's appearance in Black Adam's mid-credits scene and the subsequent announcement of the long-awaited sequel to Man of Steel has many fans excited to see Henry Cavill as a more faithful version of the Metropolis Marvel than he's had an opportunity to play. Cavill's previous appearances -- particularly in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice -- feature little of the character's storied friendliness or compassion. Instead, he's presented as a reluctant brooder who gives little thought to the people his exploits might endanger. If Cavill and the still unnamed writer and director of the upcoming solo Superman movie wish give audiences a more iconic take on the hero, they need to look no further than Tyler Hoechlin's performance on Superman & Lois for inspiration.

From his first appearance on Supergirl, Hoechlin has -- better than anyone since Christopher Reeve -- embodied the paradox central to any great Superman portrayal. He is simultaneously the most powerful man in the world and the gentlest. He can outmatch almost any opponent, but he'd rather talk his enemies down than fight them. In the Superman & Lois pilot, Superman's public debut isn't a showdown with a supervillain or a face-off with an alien invasion. It's a simple save. He catches a falling car before it crushes a little boy, and then, before flying off to save someone else, he takes time to put the child at ease and make a real human connection. Hoechlin's Superman truly feels like -- just as Reeve's Kal-El described himself to Lois Lane in Superman: The Movie -- "a friend."

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Black Adam Hints at a More Hopeful Henry Cavill Superman

Conversely, the DCEU Superman has largely felt less like a friend than a put upon savior who spends too much time wondering if he should be saving anyone at all. For all its flaws, the theatrical cut of Justice League did try to correct this. Upon returning to his senses post-resurrection, Superman prioritized saving lives over fighting Steppenwolf, and he had more of the sunny disposition and confident charm that enable him to comfort the people he saves. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie was too disjointed and messy to make full use of this character growth. As a result, it is the bleaker slant of Cavill's first two turns that seems to have stuck in viewers' minds.

Beyond Justice League, however, there are other positive indications that the newly-dubbed DC Universe is moving toward a more Hoechlin-esque Man of Tomorrow. First, in the Black Adam mid-credits scene featuring Cavill, Superman's timing, arriving just after Black Adam destroys Amanda Waller's drone, could suggest that he is working with the morally dubious director of Task Force X, but his words do not. Superman doesn't come to threaten Black Adam or pick a fight. He simply comes with an offer to talk, recognizing that the world once viewed him with similar suspicion.

Second, Henry Cavill himself has shown clear interest in playing a Superman who is more comfortable in his own skin. On the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz, he shared his eagerness to play "an enormously joyful" version of the character, and on social media, he stated that the "dawn of hope is renewed." All of this suggests Cavill's awareness of where Man of Steel and BvS may have fallen short in their characterizations of the world's greatest superhero. If this is, indeed, the case, he could be a powerful advocate for course correction going forward.

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Henry Cavill's Man of Steel Is Similar to John Byrne's Superman

Henry Cavill smiling as Superman's alter ego Clark Kent in Man of Steel

It should be pointed out Cavill's Superman shouldn't just become a copy of Hoechlin's. The Man of Steel has been around for over eight decades. After so long, there is no single definitive interpretation of the character. Cavill has plenty of room to make the role his own. This is especially true for the Clark Kent side of things. The Clark of Superman & Lois sits somewhere between the Silver and Modern Age versions of the character. He is somewhat bumbling and nerdy, but those qualities seem to be genuine rather than pieces of a disguise. The DCEU Clark is far less established, but -- if for no other reason than the fact that big, handsome Henry Cavill plays him -- he seems to hew closer to the more dynamic, self-assured version of the post-Crisis John Byrne era. These differences alone could be enough to distinguish the two Supermen without forcing one of them down an out-of-character dark path.

For many fans, Tyler Hoechlin has become the most definitive Superman since Christopher Reeve. His ability to convey strength, kindness, steel, and warmth, sometimes all at once, evokes all of Big Blue's best and most iconic traits. If Cavill truly wants to become the "enormously joyful" Superman he has described, the smartest thing he can do is catch up on Superman & Lois and watch the current master at work.

See Henry Cavill's more hopeful Man of Steel in Black Adam, now playing in theaters.