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The article seems to say that a popular comic superhero today requires some sort of weakness, a bit of self doubt, and a psychotic edge. To me, making Superman relevant is easy.

As we all know, Superman DOES have a weakness- Kryptonite. I would expand this by having an evil cabal who hires surplus scientific talent to create variations of "artificial Kryptonite". Additionally, DNA samples allow the bad guys to discover additional genetic weaknesses that could be used against him.

I would have Superman begin to question his allegiance to "the the American Way" What if he looks at problems in the country, and a physiologically clever villain starts to get him to doubt his mission on Earth?

Finally, I would have him feeling the pressure of always having to do the right thing instead of just enjoying his life. Perhaps he has discovered that some sort of celestial event involving the Earth led to his home Planet's destruction, so that the very place he protects was the ruin of the world he came from?

So, now we have a giant, all powerful force for good, formerly invincible who discovers that a small group has developed the means of his destruction where once his survival was never in question. He must now constantly scan the globe for clandestine activities in remote locations he is helpless to stop due to its strength sapping properties, so he must seek cooperation from other governments and groups, some who may actually wish for his demise. At the same time, he begins to doubt the rightness of his fight, so he considers giving it up. Worse, he become bitter toward the principles he protects, and questions his very existence.

I would bring in storylines from the world today, but mask them a bit to make them not so obvious. In short, I would make Superman a metaphor for our nation and the fight it is in today, both internally and externally.

I would have Superman begin to question his allegiance to "the the American Way"

This is what the press has been trying to have us do for the last few decades, so it's no surprise that this fictional symbol of America has been demeaned in the publics collective imagination.

A few years ago a short run called "Red Son" had Kal-El land not in the U.S. but in Soviet-dominated Russia. That the buying public considered the idea a little too weird proves that, on the deepest level, most people still cherish the principles that they deride as "corny" to their friends.

I think one reason comic book super heroes "need" to be dark and flawed and tragic is because we all grew up. Kids today don't really read comics like they did when we grew up(or even earlier, I'm not that old) So as we grew up, we wanted heroes that had experienced deep grief, the kind that stays with you, no matter how many enemies you fight/kill or how many times you save the day.

Also, people wanted "reasons" for their heroes to be. Just because you are gifted with great intelligence, athletic ability or super powers doesn't mean you'd just go and start fighting crime. What would motivate someone to sacrifice their own life(in terms of time) to do that instead of use it strictly for personal gain? What about those who might initially use it for personal gain but then see another way, one that allows them to be a part of something greater?

That is the idea for my hero, and I feel no shame in making the story exceedingly dark and tragic, but with an ultimately beautiful(I hope) message. Because I think we need stories that more and more will confront the very real evil in the world, both ideological and the baser evil of the psychopath.