Today marks Christopher Reeve’s 71st Birthday, in the year he posthumously (and somewhat controversially) returned to our screens in his most famous role. However polarizing his brief appearance in The Flash may have been, its nonetheless fascinating to see just how passionate both fandom and the moviegoing public remain about the late actor, almost two decades after his passing.
Indeed, Reeve’s Superman seems destined to live on through other mediums as we approach the 45th anniversary of the original Superman The Movie, such as the sequel to DC Comics hugely successful Superman’78, new licensed merchandise, a set of hyper-realistic statues coming from JND Studios and even a cover of LIFE Magazine.
While all this is fine testimony to his enduring legacy as the definitive cinematic Man Of Steel, perhaps the best way to honour Reeve’s memory is to donate to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, dedicated to spinal cord research. As the Man himself famously once said – If you choose hope, anything is possible – and your contribution to a worthy cause is exactly the kind of humanitarian act we associate with our Forever Superman.
Rest in peace, ‘Toph.
Christopher Reeve is the gold standard of Superman actors. Let’s hope this is what director James Gunn shoots for (pardon the pun) in “Superman Legacy” with David Corenswet. Let’s also hope that Gunn realizes that although he can emulate the Reeve era and make a good Superman movie, neither he (or anyone else) will ever surpass what Richard Donner and his team created in 1978.