The original Siegel & Schuster legend actually had a humanistic explanation for Superman's powers. The Kryptonians were simply further evolved and had strength equivalent to insects, only mathematically worked out to human size (which is why he could jump a sixth of a mile) [I do not want to hear all the reasons why that doesn't jive with physics.] Later on, earth's lighter gravity was used as a reason for the powers, though that would not explain why "nothing less than a bursting shell could penetrate his skin." The yellow sun explanation still doesn't provide a mechanism for his ability to fly (or heat vision, for that matter).
Anyway, the Superman that I grew up with has been killed many times. Lex Luthor has been made-over from a mad scientist into a megalomaniacal businessman (how boring). And now we have Lois Lane shacking up . . . wonderful.
I purchased literally hundreds of Superman and Action comic books as a youngster. I would look for inconsistencies in the "legend" that would help develop critical faculties. The 21st century version has nothing for children, and frankly nothing for me.
The original legendary Superman was no homosexual. He put aside marriage for the good of his mission.
This version of Superman is so off-kilter with the decades old legend that it is more like the "new" versions of the Scarlet Letter and Marie Antoinette than it is about the Man of Steel. He did adapt to the times (no pansy "Code Against Killing" during WWII), but he was never a deviant.
At least Maggie and Jiggs (Bringing Up Father) have maintained their traditions.
