It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's ... Who?

By Rebecca Winters

In Hollywood, broody superheroes are easy to find. The kind without neuroses, that's tricky. After considering nearly every square jaw in show biz, including those of Jude Law, Brendan Fraser and Josh Hartnett, Warner Bros. has finally cast its next Superman--an unknown Iowan named BRANDON ROUTH. Like his predecessor, Christopher Reeve, Routh, 25, started as a soap hunk, in the cast of One Life to Live. His not-so-muscly resume also includes a stint on Will & Grace and a role in the upcoming film Deadly, opposite Laura Prepon. In an age of flawed superheroes, Routh and his director Bryan Singer face the tough task of updating the straitlaced all-American icon. Singer, himself at least the fourth director associated with the project, says he always intended to fill the part with a fresh face. Routh "is an extremely fine actor," says the X-Men helmer, and as a small-town Midwesterner, "he also embodies the legacy and history of this character." Plus, we're pretty sure he'll look good in tights.