The Witcher vs. Superman: 5 Reasons Geralt of Rivia Is Henry Cavill’s Most Badass Role (& 5 Clark Kent Is)

Over the past decade, Henry Cavill has truly become one of the most recognizable action stars on the planet. Not content with playing Superman in 2013’s Man of Steel, the British hunk would go on to star in The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Mission Impossible: Fallout, and Netflix’s The Witcher. 

In each of these amazing action movies, Henry Cavill has portrayed a badass character, whether it be the Man of Steel himself or Napoleon Solo. However, perhaps his two most iconic roles are now Superman and Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher. This article will list 5 reasons why Geralt of Rivia is his most badass role and 5 why it’s Superman/ Clark Kent.

10 The Witcher: Vocabulary

One of the most loved elements of the Witcher adaptation was Geralt’s liberal use of a certain four-letter word beginning with an F and ending in a K. Perhaps the best use of this word came in Geralt’s fight against the Striga, when the creature broke free of Geralt’s chain. Not only was it hilarious, but it was also a fairly realistic reaction to the situation he found himself in (for a Witcher anyway).

While swearing isn’t necessarily a sign of badassness, the manner in which Geralt deploys it certainly is. Not only does it show a relatively human side to his character, but it also shows his lack of fear in certain situations.

9 Superman: The Suit

While the Superman suit may not be as badass as the Batman suit, it is still badass. Superman truly has reached mythical status in modern culture and the ability to wear the S Shield on your chest definitely makes you a badass. What makes it even more badass, however, is the frame on which the suit hangs.

Henry Cavill has muscles on his muscles and this only helps to make him look even more badass in the suit. The average man would hardly pull it off as well as Cavill.

8 The Witcher: Sword Skills

What is more badass than one sword? Two Swords. In the Witcher games, Geralt carries two swords on his back at all times, one is silver and one is steel. The silver sword is used to kill monsters and the steel sword is used to kill everything else.

However, Henry Cavill’s Geralt doesn’t typically carry two swords on his back in the show. While this is undoubtedly disappointing for fans of the games (though the character does not carry two swords on his back very often in the books), the fact that Geralt is still incredibly skilled with the sword is badass enough.

7 Superman: Batman Connection

This one isn’t directly related to his Superman character, but is still worthy of a mention. The fact that Henry Cavill’s Superman is able to interact with Batman makes this one of Henry Cavill’s most badass roles, perhaps, even more badass than Geralt of Rivia.

While Batman V Superman was far from a great movie, it did still have an enjoyable fight scene between the two superheroes and this certainly made Henry Cavill’s Superman look badass.

6 The Witcher: More Bare Chest

While Henry Cavill is ripped in both his roles as Superman and Geralt, he doesn’t often get bare-chested in his role as Superman. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, one would not be wrong in claiming that DC is missing a trick with Cavill.

Fortunately for Cavill fans, he has his fair share of shirtless scenes in The Witcher, including the iconic bath scene. While it is easy to look badass when you’re carrying swords and practicing magic, it is far more difficult to look badass in the bath. Fortunately for Cavill, he easily pulls it off as the image above clearly shows.

5 Superman: His Morality

While good behavior isn’t necessarily synonymous with badassness, in Superman’s case it simply has to be. On Earth Superman is, essentially, a God and is more powerful than everything else on Earth. As the old saying goes, absolute power corrupts, absolutely.

Consequently, one could easily imagine this power going to Superman’s head. However, in part due to his upbringing at the Kent household, Superman uses his powers for good and in keeping with the rights and freedoms of all.

4 The Witcher: Magic User

The show hasn’t explored too much of Geralt’s magical ability, yet there is still plenty of time for the Witcher to showcase the magical talents he possesses in the video games and the book series.

That being said, the magical power he has shown so far is incredibly badass. This main power is, essentially, a Force push style maneuver and this is fantastic to see Geralt perform. Nevertheless, we still haven’t seen the full extent of his powers on the TV show and some of his magical abilities in the books and games are on a different scale of badassness.

3 Superman: Iconic Role

The Superman role is such an iconic character. Since the 1930s, Superman has cemented himself into the popular culture, carving his own place as a ‘modern myth’ in society. The Ancient Greeks had Herakles, the Romans had Aeneas, and we have Superman.

The legend around the Man of Steel and the deep history of the character alone is enough to make this Cavill’s most badass role to date. Not many get the chance to play the Last Son of Krypton, but Cavill has certainly made the role his own.

2 The Witcher: Monster Fights

The job of a Witcher is not for the faint of heart. A Witcher is, essentially, a monster hunter and as a consequence, they must come face to face with some of the scariest, most powerful, and deadliest creatures on the continent. This simple fact alone is enough to make Geralt a badass character.

However, what makes him even more badass is how he handles his encounters with the monsters. He rarely shows fear when encountering terrifying, magical creatures and this is truly badass.

1 Superman: The Power

Famously, Superman is an overpowered character. He has super strength, super speed, laser vision, freeze breath (in some versions), and is also bulletproof, to name just a few of his powers. While the power set is clearly overkill, it still makes him a badass character.

His unique skillset allows Superman to fight some of the more powerful villains in the universe, such as Darkseid or Doomsday. What could be more badass than having the ability to save Earth from superhuman villains?

About The Author

Sam Hutchinson
(374 Articles Published)

Writer living in Adelaide, Australia. Long-suffering post-graduate student and lover of pop culture from Game of Thrones to DC.
Twitter: @samchinson

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