Nic Cage in a shiny 'Superman' bodysuit is everything you want it to be

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Nic Cage in the ’90s.

1997 was a different time. Bill Clinton was president, Friends was still airing new episodes and Nicolas Cage was apparently flexing his muscles for the doomed Superman Lives.

The Los Angeles Times got a peek at behind-the-scenes footage of Cage’s costume test for the film from the creators of the upcoming documentary The Death of ‘Superman Lives’: What Happened?

The would-be superhero movie starring Cage as the titular hero was directed by Tim Burton. The documentary’s director Jon Schnepp sat down with Burton, along with his director’s assistant Derek Frey and the film’s costume designer Colleen Atwood to discuss what they call the “holy grail of superhero footage.”

Superman Lives, sadly, never came to be, which left the rest of us to only dream of Cage and his light-up super suit — until now. Some valuable information that we can conclude from the footage includes:

1. Sculpted muscles made out of shiny spandex really do look good on anyone.

2. Suit or no suit, Nic Cage actually does have a superhero bod. Or at least he did in 1997.

3. Men’s long, wavy hairstyles of the ’90s really need to make a comeback.

The exclusive video can be viewed on the LA Times‘ website, but in the meantime, here are some very important GIFs that perfectly sum up Cage’s Superman.