20 Best Superhero TV Show Performances Ever

Tom Welling is the second iteration of Superman on this list, and easily the most experienced Man of Steel out of any of them. Over 218 episodes of Smallville, and a small cameo in Crisis on Infinite Earths, it's fair to say the actor had time to perfect his craft.

What sets the Smallville iteration apart may stem from the premise of a younger Clark Kent before donning the Superman mantle, however it is Welling's performance that makes it so different. His youth and naivety may play against the usual Superman type, but here it made for a compelling and complex character.

Though this was the initial story of Tom Welling's Clark Kent, the show was so successful its run went far beyond the young version of the character, eventually transitioning into the Man of Steel we all know and love.

While this may not have been what the showrunners had planned for Welling at the very beginning, he stepped up to the challenge and was able to portray a more traditional Superman just as well as when he had been trying to hide his powers back in the titular town.