Best actor to play your favorite super hero top five. What are your picks?

[Enchantica]

I was just thinking with all the hero movies and shows out there, which actors do you feel played the character the best?

1. Superman - George Reeves

2. Flash Gordon- Buster Crabbe

3.King of the Rocketmen- Tristram Coffin

4.Batman- Christian Bale

5.The Shadow- Alec Baldwin ( but Victor Jory was awesome)

 

  

 

 

Edited September 12, 2023 by Enchantica
add pic of king of the rocket men

[liveevil2000]

First one is kind of a wish list

 

1) Steven Lang (AVATAR) would be cool as Cable

 

2) Christopher Reeve as ... you know who!

 

3) Jon Bernthal - Punisher. Finally an actor who did the character justice.  He is awesome at it.

 

4) Robert Downey Jr. - Ironman. The MCU owes his portrayal of the character EVERYTHING!

 

5) Christian Bale - The Dark Knight. Just down right perfect.

[Gulbasaur]

32 minutes ago, Enchantica said:

4.Batman- Christian Bale

Kevin Conroy, hands down.

 

Played the character the longest. Brought Batman into the modern era. Portrayed Bruce Wayne in animated media, games and (once) in person. There's a reason that, for a lot of people here (I'm sure), his voice is the voice of Batman.

 

Cinema, games, TV, all of it. He was outstanding. I loved his portrayal. He more or less originated having two distinct voices for Bruce Wayen and Batman. Bales' Batman was cinematic but shows the worst elements of Batman as a flat character. No Batfamily (other than Alfred) and no real human connection other than his disposable girlfriend. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the films, I just think that Bales' perfomance was a bit charmless.

 

So yeah, Conroy's Batman is and, I imagine, always will be the Batman for me.

[Without_Pause]

I think the problem for Marvel at some point is going to be finding replacement actors in case they need the original hero versus one of the variations. I'm also listing ones which haven't been done.

 

Hugh Jackman - Wolverine

Chris Hemsworth - Thor

Patrick Stewart - Professor X

Ian McKellen - Magneto

Ryan Reynolds - Deadpool

 

There are a few others right on that verge for me as well. Daredevil/Hulk. Honestly, Marvel as been batting so incredibly well in the casting department. 

[High_Beam]

A lot of my choices are on this list though I disagree with others..

 

Baldwin as the Shadow worked, great movie with a bad rep.  Plus the Rondo Hatten look alike guy. Glorious.

Stewart as X absolutely, even if Stewart wasn't known for the bald look he was still the best choice.

Reynolds as Deadpool (the good Deadpool not Origins), had my doubts until I saw it.

Hemsworth as Thor, straight knockout.

Bernthal as Punisher.  Absolutely. Hate him in every thing else he's done but he nailed Frank Castle.

 

Adding

Snipes as Blade; well 1 and 2

Michael Colter as Luke Cage. He nailed it, Ultimates style.  Cool as hell.  Him and Bernthal are the only two I really think got their characters in those Netflix runs.

 

And I know this was supposed to be best but sometimes I cant help myself.  The problem is, the two most iconic super heroes I feel they have never gotten right totally, in large part due to the dual nature of their identifies.

 

Superman - Never worked, regardless of who is playing and this includes the old TV show.  Nerd glasses and clumsiness isn't enough which is why Christopher Reeve wasn't that good (sorry but he isn't).  George Reeves was doughy and while he was probably the closest to how a Clark Kent should be, when he was suited up I was like . . . wrestler.  Nick Cage!  Thank god it was just that small cameo in The Flash.  Henry Cavil is terrible as Clark and average as Supes, supes is not a brooding mook, that's Batman; stay in your lane dammit.    Honestly Brandon Routh really sold Superman side (the airplane rescue is still one of the best superhero scenes of straight heroism ever), and was a decent Kent.  Honestly if they could mash G. Reeves Kent style into Routh's Cape style that would work.

 

The GD Batman is harder still.  Look from a nostalgia standpoint I love Keaton, but as Wayne, not good.  The whole you wanna get crazy scene as Wayne in the original, is so forced and all of the Wayne scenes are that bad.  He's still my number one but they didn't get it right.  West was camp and that doesn't make it bad since Batman comics of the time were camp, the villains, the ones in or not in the comics were camp, the joker being the top of the list.  We only give them depth now in hindsight and decades of tweaking and retcons.  But his camp wasn't good.  Plus doughy and not intimidating.    Kilmer.  His Wayne was okay, but his bat was sub-par.  Clooney had perhaps the best Wayne, the dark and brooding has to be switched off when not the Bat otherwise people start to really suspect.  Clooney pulled that off.  His Bat... meh.  Bale's Wayne is terrible because of the aforementioned blurring of the brood.  His Batman was pretty good, perhaps the best if it wasn't for super gravel voice; unnecessary.  Affleck.  Wow.  How many superheroes can you eff up.  Stop casting him.  He was Wayne more than the Bat in his outings and to be blunt, his Wayne wasn't good.  So again, Batman would be a hybrid of Clooney Wayne and Bale Bat with less gravel voice.

 

Hale Berry as Storm was such a wrong choice.  That should have been Angela Basset.  Do not use her Wakanda role as the basis for why I say this.  Look at Strange Days (a really underrated film).  She is tall, toned and in shape yet still feminine and captures Auroro Monroe's look the best, regal, commanding.  Berry's version was a team mate, an also member with a few quips.  And don't get me started on Catwoman, she is the Affleck of female super heroes.

 

P.S. I didn't miss Pattenson's Batman; everybody missed Pattenson's Batman.  Wretched.

Edited September 11, 2023 by High_Beam
Added a P.S. Because I cant stop.

[SeraphimKensai]

Venom - Ed Hardy is a better Venom than Topher.Grace, but he still isn't perfect as Venom.

 

Green Lantern - Ryan Reynolds is perfect for Deadpool, but absolutely shit as Hal Jordan. Nathan Fillion is a much better Hal Jordan.

 

Spiderman - well dam this one is tougher. I gotta give it tW Tobey as Spiderman 2 is probably the best superhero movie ever made.

 

Thor - Chris Hemsworth is a great casting choice.

 

Spawn - at this point I think Jamie Fox's spawn reboot is going the way of Nicolas Cage's Superman. Michael Jai White was so so, but kinda a B rate actor. I like Keith David, but he's getting too old to be Al Simmons. I'd like to see someone like maybe Trevante Rhodes.

Edited September 11, 2023 by SeraphimKensai

[liveevil2000]

7 minutes ago, SeraphimKensai said:

Venom - Ed Hardy is a better Venom than Topher.Grace, but he still isn't perfect as Venom.

 

Green Lantern - Ryan Reynolds is perfect for Deadpool, but absolutely shit as Hal Jordan. Nathan Fillion is a much better Hal Jordan.

 

Spiderman - well dam this one is tougher. I gotta give it tW Tobey as Spiderman 2 is probably the best superhero movie ever made.

 

Thor - Chris Hemsworth is a great casting choice.

I agree with the Spiderman 2 choice.  It captured the feel of the wall crawler the best. The fight on top of the train with Doc Ock was classic Spidey.

[High_Beam]

Not angry with Toby.  Love Holland but those first two Spiderman movies, brilliant.  Love the Fillion idea.

[JasperStone]

The Lone Ranger - Clayton Moore

Cat Woman - Michelle Pfieffer 

Hawkeye - Jeremy Renner. It took a looooong time for me to get there. The series helped. Did they base it on Matt Fractions series "My Life as a Weapon?" Felt like it.

Kate Bishop - Hailee Steinfeld ... yessssss

Isis - Joanna Cameron .... c'mon my first crush. Also, the first female character to portray superpowers on tv... I think

Wonder Woman - Lynda Carter. Gal Gadot is just different and great. But .......

Nick Fury - Samuel L Jackson. Not what I grew up with. ... but the only way I can see it

 

[Luminara]

https://forums.homecomingservers.com/forum/68-comic-hero-villain-culture/

[Snarky]

The Tick.  Patrick Warburton.  Hands down best.

 

Makes me want to roll up a Invulnerability Super Strength Tank right now.  Oh wait, The Tick does not ever get mad.  Guess I will not do that.  

[Snarky]

Got the last post in General before thread was moved to "storage"...

 

[InvaderStych]

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2023 by InvaderStych
Might as well play along with the "top 5."

[Techwright]

10 hours ago, Enchantica said:

I was just thinking with all the hero movies and shows out there, which actors do you feel played the character the best?

1. Superman - George Reeves

2. Flash Gordon- Buster Crabbe

3.King of the Rocketmen- Tristram Coffin

4.Batman- Christian Bale

5.The Shadow- Alec Baldwin ( but Victor Jory was awesome)

 

The problem with picking a Superman or a Batman is that these characters change over time in the comics as well.  George Reeves was wonderful as an early Superman, but probably would never work in today's vicious, hard-hitting stories.  Likewise Adam West dominated a generation, but would never work in any portrayal 1989 or after.  I do wonder what Christopher Reeve could have done with an alt-universe villainous take on Superman, and I'm not talking about the red kryptonite wannabee of Superman III.

 

I'm a huge fan of the Shadow, and Alec nailed the role.   Unfortunately, the story direction made a few choices I disagreed with, namely portraying an origin for the Shadow, and adding some campy elements to the story.  The Shadow's origins should remain confusing.  Its part of the character's charm.  I'd have much preferred to do away with the origins, and have a modern tag scene where Margo is in the mansion talking to Lamont Cranston and turns to answer the door chime, only to find herself looking at...Lamont Cranston, who smiles and says something like, "I bet Kent Allard here didn't let you in on our little secret." With the Shadow scowling in the background.  And if you know the books and comics, you know that Kent Allard is not the end of the rabbit hole.

 

I would add that I loved Billy Zane as The Phantom, though his movie likewise suffered from campiness in the script.

 

Green Hornet & Kato:  Van Williams & Bruce Lee

 

 

[JasperStone]

Thoughts on Umbrella Academy?

[Snarky]

7 hours ago, JasperStone said:

Thoughts on Umbrella Academy?

The kid character (old man…) steals the show.  The rest of the writing is predictable and formulaic.   Yes, even the “extreme drama” characters.  Seen it a hundred times

[Without_Pause]

11 hours ago, JasperStone said:

Thoughts on Umbrella Academy?

I think the casting is great. I don't know the source material though.

 

It should go without saying that Chadwick Boseman for Black Panther should get a nod.

[Scarlet Shocker]

On 9/11/2023 at 6:18 PM, JasperStone said:

Nick Fury - Samuel L Jackson. Not what I grew up with. ... but the only way I can see it

 

 

Not sure if you're aware, but Samuel L Jackson as Fury was a bit of a joke by Mark Millar in Ultimates, when he rewrote Fury as a black man instead of the original and the ensemble spent a couple of pages chatting about who'd play them in a movie. Fury chose SLJ to play him, and a snowball was created.

[JasperStone]

10 minutes ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

 

Not sure if you're aware, but Samuel L Jackson as Fury was a bit of a joke by Mark Millar in Ultimates, when he rewrote Fury as a black man instead of the original and the ensemble spent a couple of pages chatting about who'd play them in a movie. Fury chose SLJ to play him, and a snowball was created.

Very unaware,  thank you.

 

[Techwright]

7 hours ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

 

Not sure if you're aware, but Samuel L Jackson as Fury was a bit of a joke by Mark Millar in Ultimates, when he rewrote Fury as a black man instead of the original and the ensemble spent a couple of pages chatting about who'd play them in a movie. Fury chose SLJ to play him, and a snowball was created.

Perhaps bad info was relayed to me, but I'd heard that the comics went a step further and decided Black Fury (what a great idea for a name) was actually the son (or grandson?) of White Fury, allowing the original to still cover the WWII years, while the Sam Jackson version was allowed to carve his own path.

[Scarlet Shocker]

13 hours ago, Techwright said:

Perhaps bad info was relayed to me, but I'd heard that the comics went a step further and decided Black Fury (what a great idea for a name) was actually the son (or grandson?) of White Fury, allowing the original to still cover the WWII years, while the Sam Jackson version was allowed to carve his own path.

 

I'm gonna have to reread now (not a bad plan was a good yarn) but I think it's a discrete universe, another of the amazing Marvel Multiverse kinda things

 

More detailed explanation here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimates

Edited September 14, 2023 by Scarlet Shocker

[Panache]

On 9/13/2023 at 8:39 PM, Techwright said:

Perhaps bad info was relayed to me, but I'd heard that the comics went a step further and decided Black Fury (what a great idea for a name) was actually the son (or grandson?) of White Fury, allowing the original to still cover the WWII years, while the Sam Jackson version was allowed to carve his own path.

 

The Sam Jackson Nick Fury was the Ultimate Nick Fury; 616 introduced Nick's son later on.