Brandon Routh Is Back in Superman Shape for Crisis on Infinite Earths Crossover

The upcoming Arrowverse crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths" has so many fan-service goodies baked into it that it's hard to rank which one to be most excited for - but certainly high on that list is Brandon Routh's comeback as Superman. Routh portrayed the Man of Steel in the 2006 reboot film Superman Returns, but in "Crisis" he will cameo as a different version of Superman: the older, hardened Kal-El from DC's iconic "Kingdom Come" storyline. Well, thanks to a new social media post from Brandon Routh himself, it's pretty clear that the Legends of Tomorrow star didn't just don the Superman suit and cape for his "Crisis" role: he put in the work to look a Man of Steel!

Take a look at Brandon Routh getting himself into Superman shape:

View this post on Instagram

The journey to get back into #SuperheroShape has been a fun one! 😉 HUGE thanks to @jadeway my trainer in Vancouver! He helped me get stronger & bigger, & stay healthy! 💪🏼 And @reggiebradshaw_ & his gym @rizefitness for the training HQ. 👊🏻 Also, thanks to @arinb for kick-starting the training in my first week! I had less time to train then back in 2004, but thankfully I benefited from muscle memory & good eating habits (@bulletproof #diet & #BulletproofCoffee #IntermittentFasting #Keto). Also, many others helped along the way. Previous years of training have laid the foundation. @drh.kinection has been huge in the last 3 years training me while in LA & helping me learn how to squat, deadlift, do pull-ups, etc. in the most safe/healthy way—preventing me from injury while lifting heavy. And thank you to #AlbertChang at #OriginalYinQiGongGym (Vancouver) for teaching me to gain better use of my core through #QiGong & #KneeBending training. All which have helped me feel & move more like #Superman! And lastly, #RayCampisi, my trainer for nearly 10 years—post #SupermanReturns. Ray passed away suddenly a few years ago, but he never gave up hope that I might return to the cape. 😔🧡 I think of him often, and he inspires me still. 🙏🏻

A post shared by Brandon Routh (@brandonjrouth) on Sep 30, 2019 at 1:37pm PDT

The caption on Routh's Instagram post is a long (loooooooong) plug for his team of personal trainers - but it also contains a final dedication that's very bittersweet:

"...And lastly, #RayCampisi, my trainer for nearly 10 years—post #SupermanReturns. Ray passed away suddenly a few years ago, but he never gave up hope that I might return to the cape. 😔🧡 I think of him often, and he inspires me still. 🙏🏻"

Routh is yet another actor who became an unwitting middle child of the big transition in superhero movies, missing out on his chance for a larger franchise. However, unlike Andrew Garfield (Amazing Spider-Man) or the cast of the 2015 Fantastic Four, Routh has bounced back nicely, guest starring in the Arrowverse as Ray Palmer / Atom in Arrow, before getting a full leading role as Ray in the spinoff Legends of Tomorrow. In "Crisis" he will play both Ray and Superman, which is about as big a comeback victory as you can get.

Upcoming DC movies include Joker on October 4th, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020, The Batman on June 25, 2021, The Suicide Squad on August 6, 2021, and Aquaman 2 on December 16, 2022.