This week I am going to discuss one of two things that we touched upon in the most recent Pick of the Week Podcast (which featured the mad rantings of the iFanboy staff writers and was a lot of fun), two topics that are representative of the evolving status quo in comics.

This week, I go with Phil Askew’s question about Superman, wondering why DC was doing everything in its power to make the Superman character and associated titles as lame as possible.

Now, somehow, I’ve found myself very much willing to participate in any Superman discussion. Not so much because he’s my favorite character (he really is not), but because I feel very strongly that he is an important touchstone when it comes to America’s concept of “superhero.” I am sure he represents heroism for other countries as well—Grant Morrison told me once that America was a special place because, “you guys created Superman, mate!” — but I grew up here and can only explain my experiences, which included at least two sets of Superman sheets and pillowcases.

Now, you may feel differently—and I hope you do—but I have found the Superman comics to be have been pretty awful for the past few years, and they have done nothing to help the negative image of Superman that Jimski related during our podcast (I fear it was edited out for time), when he explained, basically, that Superman was the worst superhero ever created, a flawed character with zero redeeming features, and to even try to like him, to even try to hope that the books would be good, was folly because the character itself was worthless. (Jimski, I am paraphrasing, but that’s kind of the vibe I got, am I right?)

As much as I do not agree with his point, I see it and concede that the modern Superman has been a letdown, and it seems no one knows what to do with one of the most powerful superheroes in modern comics. And when I say “powerful,” I do not just mean his yellow-sun imbued prowess. Or, despite what the picture above may imply, his teeth.

Yes, he is hard to write for all the obvious reasons, I get that. His powers and abilities and boy scout demeanor do not necessarily make him a character easy for the modern reader to relate to.

Wait. You know what? I don’t usually swear in my articles, but I am calling bullshit on that.

For many of us, Superman gave us power. Your mom would cut out a piece of red fabric and tie it around your neck and you could fly. One piece of fabric with a letter on it would mean a day of flying around…and doing good. Rescuing people. Fighting bad guys. For that afternoon, you had power to do whatever you imagined.

Perhaps the “problem” with Superman is that everyone can relate to him. That everyone has felt like a unwanted visitor, has felt abandoned, has felt like a stranger? That everyone has had that job the grinds away at their psyche, that everyone has longed for someone that didn’t ever take him or her seriously. Or perhaps the problem with Superman is that technology is making Superman less special? I can “be” in almost any place with my mobile phone when I do a video chat. I have the wealth of the world’s information in my pocket. With the internet and my social network, I don’t really have to be faster than a speeding bullet, you know? I can click a button and donate $25 to a cause in a second. When we see an injustice, we have a camera and we can take a picture and we can fight that injustice by exposing it for all the world to see. Compared to the 40s, we are all…super.

Unlike Batman, Superman is not driven by demons. He is driven by the urge to give back, to help this place he now calls home. Maybe the fact that he does it in the same costume that we imagined ourselves in when we were six years old makes it harder for us to take him seriously as a character when we are older; Superman is a relic of our childhood, a comic book character.

Now, it seems to me, that the character who defined the very concept of heroism for so many of us has the potential to be the most relevant, the most complex and most intriguing modern character in all of comic books. Yet it also seems to me that DC does not see him like this as at all, and, if anything, has forgotten just why Superman is an icon.

The New 52 characterization of Superman seems to me — at least the one I am reading in Action Comics and Justice League — hard to categorize neatly, given that the time lines have been all over the place. However, the words that come to mind for me have been along the lines of cocky and arrogant. This is, quite literally, not the Superman whom we grew up with, which is really interesting because clearly DC was trying to do something “new” with the character since Superman was very easily criticized for being an “overgrown boy scout.” So it looks like they changed him up, but now that they have changed him, he’s less likable and more irritating than ever.

DC, stop playing around with your logos and listen for a second: changing Superman’s personality is not the way to go. The moment Superman becomes arrogant is the moment that he should not be on Earth. Superman needs to admire humanity and learn from us; he can never, ever, be above humanity’s hopes and dreams. We aspire to be like him and he aspires to be worthy of us.

Characterization is, like art, a personal thing, and who knows? Maybe teens like this new Superman. (Yeah, and maybe teens read comics.) However, one thing is clear: DC blew an opportunity when it became clear that Action Comics is now just a “normal” Superman book, with his new lame costume and stupid, toothy grin.

I, for one, wanted a few years of Superman in jeans and blanket/cape. I wanted him to find Superman, to find his new identity as a hero, to understand the responsibilities bestowed upon him. The first issue hinted at a whole slew of possible stories, of character moments, of personal revelations that would, later, define the modern day “New 52” Superman. This looks like it will not happen. It now looks like Action Comics will turn into Superman and, for people like Phil Askew and myself, we are in the sad position of not reading a regular Superman title.

Is this the new status quo for Superman? Is Superman destined to be a character who creators just throw BIG PROBLEMS at? Is that what Superman is now, just a collection of powers beyond mortal men? Do modern creators look at Superman and consider it a fool’s errand to try to do something different? I mean, I’m a fan of Grant Morrison, but his recent issues of Action Comics have been confounding, with random, gibberish-ridden word balloons, convoluted action sequences and lackluster, saccharin resolutions. If the writer behind All Star Superman can’t tell a compelling Superman story for modern audiences, where does that leave us?

It makes me sad. Superman, like I said, was my “go-to” hero as a kid. He was an example of how one could be good in this world. It would be nice, as an adult, to read a book about that same hero, that same friend, making his way in this world, trying maintain a job, a relationship and keep a promise he made to his parents: to protect those who need protecting…

…and be Superman.

Mike Romo is an actor in Los Angeles. You can reach him through email, visit his Facebook page, connect with him on Google +, and collect his tweets on Twitter.