With The Dark Knight opening tomorrow, there’ve been a lot of comparisons between the various actors who played Batman—from Adam West and Michael Keaton, to Val Kilmer, George Clooney and now Christian Bale.  Which begs the question, how does The CW’s own superhero, Tom Welling, rate versus the three previous “boys of steel?”  Nearly 50 years ago, a never-aired Superboy TV pilot was produced featuring Johnny Rockwell as teenager Clark Kent, hiding his secret identity from Lana Lang at Smallville High.  Click here to watch some rare footage!  In the late ‘80s, Superboy was reborn—in color—and the syndicated cheesefest ran for four years, including a stint on WBNX.  John Newton portrayed the kid from Krypton in season one, then was replaced by Gerard Christopher for the duration.  Click here to see Newton’s first encounter with legendary foe Mxyzptlk, and click below to see Christopher battling Bizarro.  From these three clips, there’s little doubt that Welling and Smallville are the gold standard, both in terms of acting and special effects.  Tom had made only a few guest appearances when he won the Smallville role in 2001.  Since then, he has evolved into a very credible performer, and actors who’ve been on set praise his leadership among the cast.  This week’s TV Guide ranks Tom as the #1 sci-fi star who “rocks our world.”  We agree.         

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