Nicolas Cage‘s Superman lives on an official variant cover for DC‘s Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #19. (Heads up: this article contains spoilers for the new film The Flash.)
Written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Travis Moore, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #19 is set to release in comic shops this September. Rolling Stone has exclusively revealed Dan Mora’s cover art for the issue, which imagines Cage as the Man of Steel. This variant cover serves to commemorate Cage’s recent cameo as Superman in the DC Universe film The Flash.
“I grew up watching Nic Cage’s movies and am a big fan his,” Mora said. “I was excited that he finally got a chance to play Superman in The Flash and I did my best to pay tribute to him in that role… Nic is a great actor that injects so much energy into his roles. You can’t help but imagine what his Superman would be like.” In addition to Cage, a number of other celebrities are getting variant covers as part of the Batman/Superman: World’s Finest series. These include Jerry Seinfeld, Paul McCartney, and Jack White.
Nicolas Cage almost played Superman in the ’90s
In 1996, filmmaker Kevin Smith pitched a film called Superman Lives to franchise producer Jon Peters. Batman and Batman Returns helmer Tim Burton was attached to direct the film, which would have starred Cage as the Last Son of Krypton. Cage even attended a costume fitting. However, Warner Bros. abruptly shelved Superman Lives in 1998, and the film was never made. Its troubled development was chronicled in Jon Schnepp’s 2015 documentary The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened?.
Of course, Cage ultimately did get the chance to play Superman on the big screen. Even before his recent turn as the character in The Flash, the actor voiced the Man of Steel in DC’s 2018 animated film Teen Titans Go! To the Movies. Cage remains a massive fan of Superman, having even named his second-born son Kal-El (Superman’s birth name).
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #19 goes on sale on Sept. 19.
