For a world filled with comic book fans, Christopher Reeve had for years been the definitive Superman. For thousands suffering with paralysis and spinal cord injuries, in one tragic moment, he morphed suddenly from an actor perfectly cast onscreen, to a real-life personal inspiration and a champion of medical research and healthcare reform. Standing six-foot-four and sporting a jaw as square as his illustrated predecessor, the then-unknown Reeve became an overnight success when he was cast in “Superman: The Movie” (1978) – most notable for his evenhanded portrait of both the character’s
