It doesn't get more timeless than the Man of Steel. Superman has been a fixture of the pop-culture landscape for almost a century, and you don't need to look too hard to see why. The first real superhero to ever grave the pages of comic books, Kal-El of Krypton is faster than both a locomotive and a speeding bullet, he can leap tall buildings in a single bound (and, uh, you know, fly), and is stronger than steel itself.
Yet Superman's most enduring quality is the hopeful and triumphant nature of the character. In spite of the awful things that happen in the DC Universe, he never fails to see the hope for humanity, and he's pretty good at inspiring that hope, too. He's a beacon of light in a sometimes too dark world, showing us all that can we can better, we can better super in our ways.
But did we also mention that he's really strong? Like, seriously so, and he has showcased that over the years on a lot more than just the comics. Of course, we're talking about his many, many, many live-action appearances over the years, ranging from the very first movie serials and Christopher Reeves' game-changing turn to the DCEU version played by Henry Cavill and Tyler Hoechlin's redefining performance on Superman and Lois.
With that in mind, which of the live-action versions of Superman on our screens have captured the character's strength the best? Let's rank them and find out!
10. Superboy
Airing on TV screens in the '80s and '90s, Superboy gave us a look into the Man of Steel's younger and more vulnerable years. Yes, it sounds like a pre-Smallville version of Smallville and that's essentially what it was. There was one difference, however: This version was allowed to wear a cape.
The version of Clark Kent that we meet on Superboy is basically just a young Superman. He tries to be Clark Kent as much as he can but he also has to contend with the fact that he is super and must save people. And so, he goes off to be Superman. Except he's a boy, sort of.
Complicated codenames aside, Superboy gives us exactly what it promises, as the Boy of Steel does possess the vast majority of his comic book counterpart's abilities, but they haven't been fully developed as he's still learning about what it means to be a superhero - and how to be a superhero.
Over the course of the show's run, Clark evolves (in more ways than one, as he is recast from season 2 onwards) and grows, edging closer to the Man of Steel we all know and love. Yes, the conventions of TV meant that he had to regress every so often, or fall victim to problems he should have overcome by then, but hey that's the journey of life, right?
While Superboy should have been more powerful given his youth, it's forgivable considering we're talking about a '90s show that ended prematurely. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see what a young Superman, without his fully-formed abilities, would have been like.