After numerous hazy and indirect appearances last season during Supergirl last season, Superman is fully debuting this fall on the Girl of Steel's TV series. Tyler Hoechlin was cast as the Man of Steel last month, and since then, fans have been eagerly waiting to see the actor in the iconic red, yellow and blue duds. Now we finally have our first look at the Teen Wolf star in costume as Kal-El, next to Melissa Benoit's Kara Zor-El.
Although Tyler Hoechlin and the Supergirl cast were present at San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend, there wasn't a sneak peek of how this new version of Superman will look. Instead, DC Comics and The CW saved the first gaze for today, with Superman and Supergirl triumphantly posting over the 'S' shield and sunlight gleaming in the background. This costume, designed by Kiersten Ronning, looks quite familiar to what hardcore and casual fans are used to, from the red cape to the yellow background on his symbol. However, he's traded in the red undies for a belt of the same color, which is consistent with how the character has looked since the New 52.
While the boots look a little more clunky than usual, Tyler Hoechlin's Superman costume looks faithful to what Kal-El, a.k.a. Clark Kent, has typically worn over his 78-year existence. Obviously Supergirl's own costume was based off his, so it had to have that classic design rather than be something radically different. Although Tom Welling's Clark Kent briefly suited up in the Smallville finale, the last time we saw a properly costumed Superman on live action television was in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Henry Cavill is currently playing the cinematic Man of Steel in the DC Extended Universe, but his suit looks more textured, while Hoechlin's suit looks more streamlined.
Superman's presence was definitely felt throughout Supergirl Season 1, but his actual appearances left a lot to be desired. Kal, a.k.a. Clark Kent, primarily communicated to Kara through instant messaging, and when he did show up, he was either far away, out of focus or lying in a coma on an operating table, with only his boots showing in front of the camera. For the show's sophomore season, they've opted to finally give Kara's Kryptonian cousin a proper introduction. Tyler Hoechlin's Superman will appear in the first two episodes of Supergirl Season 2, but there's been no word yet on if/when we can expect future appearances from him.
Supergirl Season 2 premieres Monday, October 10 at 8 p.m. EST on The CW. Let us know what you think of the new Superman costume in the comments below!
