Christopher Reeve said it best in his book "Still Me." Reflecting on his portrayal of Superman in four movies, he wrote: "I think I was the right actor for the part at the time I played it, but I think the role is larger than any particular actor and should be reinterpreted from generation to generation.

	Brandon Routh Click photo for larger image.

"As Kirk Alyn was right for the '40s and George Reeves was right for the '50s, I was the temporary custodian of this icon of American pop culture in the '70s and early '80s."

Since then, three more custodians on screens big and small have emerged. A snapshot of the Supermen of the past six decades:

Brandon Routh -- The weight of a rejuvenated franchise rests on the shoulders of this 26-year-old Des Moines, Iowa, native. With a resume heavy on TV ("One Life to Live," prime-time guest spots), he emerged from casting calls in the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia as the face of "Superman Returns."

Dean Cain Click photo for larger image.

He was picked by director Bryan Singer for his resemblance to the comic book icon and his Midwestern roots. At 6 feet 3 inches, he's an inch shorter than Reeve and wears a contoured "muscle suit" under his Superman costume because the skintight fabric flattened his natural musculature, the production says. He sounds like Reeve and looks like he could be a much-younger brother.

Tom Welling -- Some fans of TV's "Smallville" think he should have been cast in the new Superman movie. A former model, his big-screen credits include playing one of the brood in "Cheaper by the Dozen" and a charter boat captain in "The Fog."

Welling stars in the WB (soon to be CW network) series about the journey from Smallville to Metropolis, from Clark Kent to Superman. His Clark sometimes seems like a dimmer bulb than other portrayals, but he brings an inherent sweetness to the heroic character.

	Christopher Reeve Click photo for larger image.

Dean Cain -- The hunky actor starred alongside Teri Hatcher in ABC's romantic comedy "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" from September 1993 to June 1997. Critics called him buff and her bitchy. In real life, people who look this good would be working in TV, not for a newspaper.

Talk about your ideal Superman. He would fly home to have dinner with mom one night, to Shanghai to fetch Chinese take-out food for Lois on another. She eventually figured out his dual identity, Clark proposed and, after some false starts, they were married and talking about a child as the series ended. Hatcher moved to Wisteria Lane, while Cain is still looking for his version of "Desperate Housewives."

Christopher Reeve -- He borrowed Clark's shyness, vulnerability and charming goofiness from Cary Grant's paleontologist in "Bringing Up Baby." When Lois asks Superman, "Who are you?" he replies, "A friend," and that went to the heart of Reeve's portrayal, downplaying the hero and emphasizing the friend in the first film.

George Reeves Click photo for larger image.

After being paralyzed in a horse-riding accident in 1995, he became a champion of spinal-cord research and a beacon of hope. Reeve, 52, died in October 2004, and today, his worlds mingle in the sale of Superman tags benefiting the Christopher Reeve Foundation. They bear the trademark red and yellow "S" and the inspirational words "Go Forward."

George Reeves -- He played Brent Tarleton in "Gone With the Wind" and seemed headed for movie stardom with 1943's "So Proudly We Hail" but is best remembered as TV's Superman. Hired for his acting talent, classic profile and strong jaw, he overcame erratic and penny-pinching production schedules to become one of television's earliest superstars.

Accounts vary about how disappointed Reeves was that he had become a children's entertainer and not the movie star he envisioned before his World War II military service. When he was found shot to death in June 1959, news of his suicide shook the world, but some friends and investigators suspected he was murdered.

	Kirk Alyn Click photo for larger image.

No matter who held the gun, which had no trace of fingerprints, it was a tragic end for a 45-year-old actor who always seemed to wear a wide smile for the cameras.

Kirk Alyn -- When Superman made the leap from radio to film, Alyn starred in 15-episode serials that entertained Saturday matinee audiences. A New Jersey native, he was a dancer and actor who had followed pal Red Skelton to Hollywood.

Jeffrey Thurnher/The WB Tom Welling is Clark Kent in TV's "Smallville." Click photo for larger image.

The book "Superman: The Complete History" recounts Alyn showing up at a producer's office and being told to strip to his undies. "Wait a minute! What kind of interview is this?"

As it turned out, he worked out with barbells, so he was ready for his close-ups. He had an uncredited role as young Lois Lane's father in 1978's "Superman" and died in 1999 at age 88.