I haven't been the biggest Superman fan. There's something about the character that seems stodgy to me, stifled. Unlike most people who might make such a complaint my argument isn't that the character of Superman is too altruistic or too outdated, my feeling is that the trappings around Superman are stale. After all, Captain America is another old character with strong morals but he doesn't get nearly the amount of flack as Superman does.
The problem is that when you have a character who is as powerful as Superman is, it is hard to get me concerned for his physical well-being. I know that there are few obstacles that he cannot overcome (including cheating death). We've seen him go toe-to-toe with so many supervillians that it is hard to imagine him losing a fight. The way to make me care about Superman is his supporting cast and the world around him.
Let's start with the supporting cast. What's amazing about Superman is that he's married (and unlike Spider-Man, they've kept him married). This relationship more than any other has the ability to humanize him. It provides us with a chance to see Superman having to deal with mundane things that are of no concern to a bachelor, which is just a hot bed for humorous situations. He also works in the strangest office environment known to man. Whereas most people go to work and sit in a cubicle or perhaps they work retail, this man teleports to the moon and watches news reports.
To compare Superman to Captain America once more, it's great to have morals but you need to see those morals put to the test. He has the ability to kill almost anyone, is he ever tempted? I know that Superman had vowed never to kill again but what if someone came after Lois or his parents? Also, if he has the power to overthrow a brutal dictator, would he? In a world of global terrorist cells and nations preparing for war, how does Superman deal with the fact that he is a one man army? And this is leaving out the bigger, yet simplier, question of how does Superman deal with the rise of antihero?
Now, Superman still has to have villains to fight. You don't get to be an icon like Superman without getting into tussles. Since he is so strong, though, why not position him up against people who are a better threat. For instance, as he is vulnerable to magic, why not have him fight a beast whose power is of a magical origin. Also why not have him face off against telepaths? And if he has to go one-on-one make sure it's with someone that can actually pose a threat to him physically and don't forgot that there are also ways to physically handicap him temporarily such as being sick, overworked, switching bodies, what have you. But it should always be remembered that the best Superman villain is Lex Luthor, a very intelligent human. That is what protagonist/antagonist relationships are based on, utilizing opposites.
Some might say that this is asking a lot and it is, to be quite honest. I probably wouldn't even have asked for it had I not already seen it done. In my opinion, Joe Kelly did the best run on Superman. He managed to fill the book with humor and emotional resonance. He also pitted Supes against the Elite, a great tongue-in-cheek poke at the Authortiy (who had just made a great tongue-in-cheek poke at the Avengers). It was during his tenure which they also infected Superman with a virus that made him more physically vulnerable, not to mention Lois making a backroom deal with Lex Luthor. I'm not saying that his run was the best but at least it shows that this crazy balancing act can be done.
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